Beautiful Fascination
by LiveInLoveAndLaughter
Summary: Troy Bolton finds his world turned upside down when East High's newest student, Gabriella Montez, arrives. The beautiful girl proves to be fascinating to East High's dangerous bad boy.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Clearly I do not own the High School Musical franchise._

**Chapter One: Welcome to East High, Little Lady**

Gabriella Montez pushed open the front door of East High School, ducking her head under a flying football. Sighing, she straightened and recomposed her face. She hated new schools. She hated starting over. She hated making new friends. And she really hated that she was doing it senior year. _Life sucks,_ she thought. Looking around briefly, she noted a map posted on a corner wall. Stopping next to it, she glanced at the sign that was supposed to give directions. "Seriously?" She muttered. Forcing the scowl off her face, Gabriella looked around for someone who seemed approachable to point the way to the front office.

Troy Bolton studied the brunette staring at the very confusing map he knew was posted on the wall. She was the new girl at East High he'd heard about. At the very least she was a looker. Her long dark hair curled around her shoulder blades. She didn't appear to be wearing too much make up. And her body looked perfect in a fitted black scoop neck shirt, a high waisted knitted orange, red and black skirt and black heeled boots that reached her knees. Glancing at his watch, he counted to ten before turning around to catch the basketball that came whizzing towards his head every morning. Like clockwork.

"Dude, how do you never miss?" Chad Danforth's, his best friend, afro came into view before he actually did. Troy shrugged, his bright blue eyes giving away no emotions. "Whatever, one day you won't and I'll laugh. Now give me Lucille back." He held out his hands expectantly.

"Does Taylor ever get jealous of the special treatment Lucille gets?" Troy and Chad both spun around to face Zeke Baylor and his girlfriend, Sharpay Evans, who were walking towards them.

"She understands." Chad gave Lucille, his basketball, an affectionate pat. "Now, why does Sharpay have cookies and I don't?" Chad looked to Zeke, who baked the most delicious delicacies, for an answer.

"Because I laid on top of him naked last night and sucked his dick this morning." Sharpay retorted, licking her fingers for an added effect. Her brown eyes sparkled as she hoped Chad would take the bait.

"Because that is such a difficult task to perform." All eyes turned to Troy at his response. Just as Sharpay was about to respond, he pushed himself off the set of lockers he was leaning against and walked across the bustling hallway.

"Where is he going?" Sharpay stomped her foot, frustrated she couldn't have the last word. Chad and Zeke just shrugged in response.

Gabriella was just about to ask a blonde boy dressed in pink stripes with a matching fedora when she felt someone's eyes on her. Turning slightly, she noted a tall, broad brunette male walking towards her. Unsure if he was actually approaching her, she turned once more to the map.

"That map hasn't been updated and is nearly impossible to read." Gabriella held herself very still, trying not to show her surprise as two very well-defined arms trapped her agains the wall.

"Well I've never been very good with maps anyhow." She slowly turned and leaned against the wall, putting as much space between her and the mystery boy as possible.

"Well then it's a good thing I came over when I did." He kept his face in a cool, amused smirk. It was almost unsettling how confident he appeared.

"I suppose it's my lucky day to have such a generous knight in shining armor." Gabriella breathed, the sarcasm evident in both her voice and face.

Troy leaned back just enough to let her run if she wanted. He was impressed, she hadn't flinched or jumped. In fact, she seemed generally unaffected by his close proximity, with the exception of slight aggravation.

Holding in a tired sigh, Gabriella looked up at Troy, "Okay kid, how about you show me where the Front Office is so I can get my schedule. You might as well make yourself useful if you're going to bother me."

Troy took an involuntary step back. _Kid? _He thought to himself. "Alright, this way then little lady." He hid his smirk, just knowing she wouldn't like that nickname.

"Lead the way kid." She gestured ahead of her, attempting to mask her disdain for the boy in front of her. Although she had to admit, he was not too bad to look at from behind. His white t-shirt clung to him in all the right places, showing off his defined arms and broad chest, they met with dark wash jeans that hung on his hips just low enough to see the waistband of his Calvin Klein boxers.

Troy nodded and turned, expecting the exotic beauty to follow him. And Gabriella did just that. She followed the blue-eyed boy, watching curiously as people parted like the Red Sea for him. She did her best to ignore the whispers about who she was and why she was following Roy? Troy? She couldn't seem to catch his name. Not that it really mattered.

They took a few winding turns, but ended up at the Front Office fairly quickly. "Have a good day little lady." Troy dipped slightly in a bow.

"Thanks kid." She didn't even give him a second glance as she opened the door to the Front Office.

Troy sauntered into Mrs. Darbus's homeroom seemingly without a care in the world. "Mr. Bolton, so nice of you to join us." He smirked and shrugged.

"I was helping a lost soul find the Front Office." The class as a whole snickered, believing Troy was making up excuses.

Choosing to ignore Troy and the class, Mrs. Darbus motioned for him to sit, "Now where were we? Ah yes! The mounting evils of cell phones!"

"Darbus?"

Adjusting her glasses, the large woman whipped around in aggravation, "Look Bolton, first your son interrupts my lecture and now you."

"Look Darbus, I'm not here to talk about your aversion to modern day technology, I found a lost new student." Coach Bolton moved slightly to the left, revealing Gabriella.

"Ah, Miss Montez, we're so happy to have you join us. Please have a seat next to Miss McKessie." She motioned to a dark-skinned girl, "We're discussing the evils of cell phones. Goodbye Coach Bolton." She waved him off, not watching him close the door. "Now we can finally get back to the evils of cell phones."

Troy turned his head slightly, ignoring Mrs. Darbus, to look at the new girl 'Miss Montez,' he held in the smirk that was threatening to erupt on his face. Feeling eyes on her, Gabriella looked up and found herself caught in a very intense blue gaze. She considered her options for a moment, and then gave him a small, sexy smile, knowing it would throw him off a little bit.

At Gabriella's smile, Troy turned around. This girl, whose first name he didn't even know, was proving to be very confusing. First, she was never shocked or openly confused by any of his actions. Then she seemed bored with him, then turns around calls him kid with no second glance, and now he was on the receiving in of easily one of the most seductive smile's he's ever seen. _Who is this girl? _The ringing of the bell brought Troy out of his thoughts.

"See ya around kid. Gabriella whispered as she passed Troy on her way out of the room.

"Excuse me?" Gabriella turned at the unfamiliar voice. She simply raised an eyebrow at the girl she was placed next to during Homeroom.

"My name is Taylor McKessie, I thought if you need help," Taylor faltered for a moment. For a new girl, Gabriella was insanely confident, "I could show you around." Taylor went for the simplest sentence she could.

Deciding to grace the girl with a brief smile, she flashed one, which Taylor noted still was not overtly friendly, "Of course that would be wonderful Taylor. My name is Gabriella Montez." She held out her hand as she readjusted her face to eliminate all emotion.

"Nice to meet you Gabriella." Taylor looked questioningly at the girl. "Can I see your schedule?" Gabriella nodded, her long ebony curls shaking slightly from side to side, as she handed the girl her schedule. Taylor tried to hide her shock that this new girl standing in front of her was in all AP courses. In fact, they had the same schedule. "Oh, we have all the same courses." Taylor finally stated.

"Tay-Tay?" Both girls looked up, seeing an afro make its way through the crowd. "Hey babe." Chad dropped a kiss on Taylor's cheek.

"Chad this is Gabriella Montez, she's new. Gabriella, this is my boyfriend Chad Danforth." Taylor gestured between the two of them.

"And this is Lucille." Chad held up his basketball. Watching as Gabriella's face remained utterly bored, he commented. "You're the girl Troy ditched us for this morning."

"Oh the kid who showed me the Front Office." Gabriella made the comment so nonchalantly it threw Taylor and Chad. "So Taylor, should we head to AP Government?" It was an order masked as a question.

"Of course. Right." Taylor handed the schedule back to Gabriella and waved to Chad, leaving him standing in the hallway. "So um," Taylor went to break the uncomfortable silence that formed between them as they waled, "Mr. Phillips is pretty cool. The course isn't too hard for an AP." It was very disconcerting to Taylor that Gabriella only nodded in response and her face never changed. _She is too much like Troy. And one of him is enough, _Taylor thought.

Taylor sighed as she opened the classroom door, and held it open until Gabriella entered. Nodding a curt thanks to Taylor, Gabriella walked up to the front of the room to introduce herself to Mr. Phillips. _Let the games begin_, Gabriella thought as the school day officially began.

"So you met Gabriella?" Chad asked, as he tossed his folder and Calculus book on the empty desk next to Troy in the back of the classroom.

"Gabriella?" Troy asked without any recognition of the name. Chad watched him carefully, surprised that Troy had to fight off a smile when he realized who Gabriella was, "You mean 'Miss Montez.'"

"Yes, Miss Montez." There was a hint of sarcasm in Chad's voice as he waited expectantly for Troy's explanation.

Troy shrugged, "She was lost. I helped. Nothing more." Chad went to object that it wasn't nothing, but the cold, hard look Troy sent him shut him up. Chad quietly kicked himself for opening up the cold Troy no one liked to deal with.

By the time lunch rolled around, Chad was cringing knowing Taylor, Sharpay, Ryan, Kelsi and Zeke were not going to be happy with him. Even Jason was unhappy. And that meant Troy had really shut down because Jason was unobservant. And Chad only made it worse when he tried to apologize. Apparently Gabriella Montez really got under Troy's skin. And he'd only spoken to her for a few minutes.

Taking a deep breath, Chad followed Troy into the cafeteria silently. He avoided their lunch table as long as possible, going through each line slowly, taking his time. By the time he reached the table, everyone was sitting in silence, staring at Troy. And Gabriella was trying to look uninterested at the lack of interaction. The only evidence of her curiosity was in the quick looks she was throw in Troy's direction.

"Hey guys." Chad waved as he juggled Lucille and his tray in one hand.

"Great job Chad." Sharpay spat, making no attempt to hide her anger.

"Let him go Sharpay." Troy turned his head towards Sharpay.

"He speaks." Sharpay threw her hands over her heart in mock shock.

"Why does anyone even care if he speaks or not?" All eyes now turned to Gabriella, who took a loud bite out of a piece of celery as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Troy has a tendency to," Kelsi paused, and Gabriella realized this was the first time she'd heard the mousy brunette's soft voice, "drag everyone down with his mood." she finished carefully.

Gabriella gave another shrug, "Again I ask, who cares?" She eyed Troy, wondering if he'd take the bait.

He didn't.

"He's a high maintenance pain in the ass. That's why." Sharpay retorted, kicking Troy under the table with her shimmery pink stiletto. He didn't verbally respond, instead he turned the full force of his ice blue eyes on her.

Gabriella watched entranced. This boy seemed to control the entire group with his mood. Even Sharpay, quite possibly the loudest, most opinionated, most obnoxious person she'd ever met, squirmed and caved under his calculating stare. She had to admit, it was intimidating. Gabriella had to contain a small smile, Troy's look, though scary, was nothing compared to the one's Gabriella could muster up. _Mama always says, 'If looks could kill' when she talks about me. _Deciding not to delve any further into the issue of Troy and his moods today, Gabriella chose just to shrug yet again, as if she wasn't curious and didn't strangely care about whatever had set off Troy's temper.

Troy watched her discreetly throughout lunch. She didn't seem phased by the lack of conversation. Or that everyone was treading carefully since Chad pissed him off earlier, thinking this new, very unimportant girl was more than a potential easy fuck. She did question his control though, and that concerned him. Even after she stopped asking questions, she wasn't convinced. But she didn't seem to care. And that upset him, no it didn't upset him. It made him curious. She made him curious. She wasn't quietly challenging him because she was new and confused and didn't know what she was doing. It was because she quietly gaining control. His control.

Gabriella and Taylor walked in their now typical uncomfortable silence at the end of the day from the chemistry lab to the locker room for their last class, Gym. "Tay! Gabriella!" Both girls turned to see Sharpay, struggling to run in her heels, dragging Kelsi behind her. "Are y'all headed to P.E.?" She asked, disdain for the class dripping off the words.

Gabriella chose not to respond. _Where else would we be going? We're standing in front of the Girl's Locker Room._

Taylor nodded sullenly, "Ready to begin basketball." She muttered.

Gabriella's ears perked up, "That's the unit we're on?"

Taylor, Sharpay and Kelsi nodded in unison as they walked into the buzzing locker room, "And the boys love it. Way too much." Sharpay groaned as she sat dejectedly on a bench. "And Paulo just did my hair this morning. And last time we played basketball, I broke a nail." She whined. "I WANT TO BE IN THEATER!" She screamed in the locker room. No one else seemed effected by the scream though.

Gabriella rolled her eyes as she walked towards her assigned locker, "Well I think this will be fun." She spun the dial and opened the door. Shoving her gym bag inside. She didn't notice the look Sharpay, Kelsi and Taylor passed. A look of disbelief. Gabriella obviously hadn't picked up on who Troy, Zeke, Jason and Chad were.

When the girls made their way into the gym, the boys were already throwing a basketball around, with a three-on-two game going. Troy and Zeke versus Chad, Jason and Ryan. And Gabriella noticed how athletic they were.

A whistle blowing interrupted the game, "Okay boys, take a seat." Coach Bolton walked into the room pushing a whiteboard on rollers in front of him. "Everyone on the bleachers. We're going to spend the first half of the period going over the rules of basketball, then we'll get a casual game going to see how everyone does."

The boys gathered on the bench below the girls and leaned back. Gabriella did her best to pay attention, even though she had a phenomenal understanding of the sport. Halfway through the lesson, she found herself watching Troy. His face was impassive. Like he was as bored as she was. She fought to keep the curiosity off her face as she studied him. No one had ever made her this curious before. The whistle blowing again brought her out of her thoughts about Troy Bolton.

"Okay, let's start with a warm up. Two laps around the gym," Coach Bolton instructed. "Take it easy guys." Even to Gabriella, it was clear he was talking to Chad, Troy, Ryan, Zeke and Jason, who were clearly excited to start playing. Falling in with the group, Gabriella found herself running with the boys in the class, well the boys who were clearly athletes. Coach Bolton watched the new student, who looked very much like a scared, lost, little girl this morning. During the lesson, she reminded Coach Bolton of his son, she looked uninterested. And now she was lapping his cross country star, Zeke.

Gabriella could tell Zeke was less than thrilled when she lapped him, finishing a good ten seconds before him. She shrugged at the thought, she'd always been fast, but she preferred dancing to any school sports. Of course her old school had an incredible arts program. And a much more rigorous academic program. Feeling a presence behind her, Gabriella chose to ignore Zeke. She really didn't want friends. She just wanted to get through senior year.

"You're really fast." _Well he's a regular genius. _Zeke looked down at her, "You should join the track team." He smiled. He was being friendly. She didn't want friends. She shrugged and walked towards the larger group. She arrived just in time to have a red jersey thrown at her.

"Okay guys," Coach Bolton paused as everyone put on either white or red jerseys, "and ladies," he paused again. "Let's try to get a small game going so I can see where everyone stands. Next time we meet, we'll go over shooting specifics." He blew his whistle, "Huddle up and go over positions. Troy, Chad, Zeke and Jason will lead the way for everyone."

Gabriella turned to face her circle. Jason and Chad had taken control of the group. She listened, quietly for a moment, as they split the team up, essentially telling the girls to stay out of the way. "I could play point guard." She finally decided to speak up.

Chad and jason looked up and laughed, "Yeah you can't go up against Troy." Chad patted her on the shoulder, "Jase can handle it." Gabriella looked at them with disdain, deciding that arguing would mean caring, she shut her mouth.

"Why don't you go up agains Sharpay, just until you get your bearings as to how everyone here plays." Ryan suggested.

Gabriella spun to face him. _Now that was just insulting. _"The poodle worried about her hair and nails?" She asked. Ryan simply nodded, "Gee thanks for the vote of confidence in my abilities." Stalking to act as guard against Sharpay in the man-to-man play chad and Jason chose for the team. _If Troy is this good, _Gabriella thought, _then we should be playing zone, not man-to-man. _

The game didn't start off well. Zeke got the jump ball, not Chad. It didn't take long for Gabriella to decide that Sharpay didn't NEED guarding. She wasn't going to touch the basketball even if it was thrown to her. She also realized that Jason was drowning against Troy and Ryan wasn't much help. Chad and Zeke were so evenly matched, he couldn't spare a second to help. Gabriella's competitive nature overtook her pride at being sent to the corner because she was female. Shifting her position, she all but pushed Ryan out of the way to help Jason against Troy.

Troy had been watching Gabriella out of the corner of her eye. He didn't need his full attention to keep Jason and Ryan off his back. It was a clear mistake on Chad's part to put Gabriella on Sharpay. Gabriella was clearly athletically inclined. He watched, a lazy, amused smile on his face, as Gabriella pushed Ryan to the side to help Chad with Zeke. _She wants to take me on_, he thought. He gave her a menacing smile, _bring it. _Deciding to see how good she was, Troy easily pushed past Jason so he could go up against her one-on-one.

Gabriella smiled, it was clear Troy wanted to go up against her, but he had no idea how good she actually was. She could feel the rest of the class peeling off so they could watch the spectacle unfolding. And she was right, he didn't think she'd actually try to go up against him alone, so he was surprised when she snatched the ball out of his hands and shot a beautiful three-pointer in a matter of seconds. Turning to face Jason, Chad and Ryan, she took a small bow.

"Okay little lady," Troy grabbed the ball, "let's go again." Coach Bolton watched as Troy checked the ball to Gabriella. He thought about breaking up the one-on-one, but at the last minute he decided against it.

"Bring your best game kid." She sent him a seductive wink that threw him off as she passed him and shot another basket.

For the next fifteen minutes, Coach Bolton watched, along with the rest of the class, in awe as Gabriella maintained a three point lead on Troy, who was clearly running his ass off to keep it close. Glancing at his watch, he blew the whistle again. "Okay, show's over." Coach Bolton looked down at the girl in front of him and held out his hands for the basketball. "Go get changed. Tomorrow we'll go over shooting." He waved off the entire class towards their locker rooms.

Troy stood outside the Girl's Locker Room waiting for her. She was the first to emerge. And as he pushed himself off the wall, he tried not to notice how effortlessly beautiful she seemed to be. "Little lady." He caught her attention.

She stopped, "What can I do for you kid?" She tapped her heeled black boot impatiently.

"You're quite the athlete." He commented.

"You're observant." She countered.

He snorted a little, "See you tomorrow little lady." And he was gone. She watched him walk off, fascinated. He was confusing. And frustrating. And she still didn't understand his role in this stupid school.

Read & Review

XOXO

MAS


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Clearly I do not own the High School Musical franchise._

I want to apologize for the lack of cohesiveness in the last chapter. I did not realize when I uploaded the document that the lines I'd inserted to indicate a scene change or lapse in time did not appear. My apologies.

Mollie

**Chapter Two: What Did He Want?**

"I'm home." Gabriella let the front door shut with a bang.

"Kitchen Gabi!" Gabriella heard her mother, Anna Montez's, voice echoing down the hall.

Walking into the bright yellow kitchen, she took a deep breath, exhaling with a smile, "Mama it smells delicious." She walked over to the island and dipped her pointer finger in the brownie mix her mother was stirring. Her mother made the best brownies ever.

"Mija!" Antonio Montez, Gabriella's father, came bounding through the kitchen door with her ten year old brother, Carlos, slung over his shoulder. "We all want to eat the brownies!"

Gabriella giggled for the first time since 8 am letting the mask slip off her face, "You don't mind my germs." She kissed her father's cheek.

"I don't know," Antonio paused, dropping Carlos to the ground, "do we want Gabi's cooties mijo?" He asked his son.

"Ew! Cooties!" Carlos screeched.

"How about some more cooties?" Gabriella asked, egging Carlos on. He began shaking his head as Gabriella dropped her bags and started a slow chase around the kitchen.

Anna laughed at her children before raising her hands, "Okay how about we take the cootie chase outside?" She asked.

"Or better yet," Gabriella grabbed the basketball sitting by the kitchen door, "how about we channel this energy into a little two-on-one game? What do you say Montez boys? Think you can take me?" She challenged.. The two boys looked at her. "Come on Coach Montez, let's see that you're capable of coaching the University of Albuquerque Red Hawks." She tossed the ball at her father.

"What do you say Carlos?" Antonio asked, "Want to beat your sister's pants off?" He watched his daughter toss her boots by the door and throw on her sneakers.

"Let's beat her pants off!" Carlos chanted.

HSMHSMHSM

After dinner, Gabriella sat in her room flying through her AP Calculus homework when there was a knock at her door. "Come in." She called out.

"Hey Gab," her father poked his head in her room "you too busy to talk?" He asked. She shook her head, shutting her book and pushing it aside. "I wanted to talk to you about school."

"Okay . . ." She dragged the word out, "Is everything alright?"

"Oh yeah, how was your first day?" He watched his daughter carefully, knowing that his basketball coaching career forced them to travel as he moved up in the coaching world. And he knew she really hated this last move so he could teach a Division I team.

"Fine." She responded.

"Did you even try to make friends?" He asked, poking her in the side.

She squirmed a little at the contact and rolled her eyes, "I guess I made friends. They're weird." Her face scrunched up thinking of Sharpay, Ryan, Jason and Chad in particular. "I think the guys are sexist." Again she rolled her eyes, "Heaven forbid a girl knows how to shoot a basket."

Antonio chuckled and patted her leg, "Well I'm going to be on campus around lunch to talk to the basketball coach and meet some of the players. East High has the best player in the state."

Gabriella sighed, "Troy Bolton."

Her father nodded, "Did you meet him today?"

"I faced off with him in gym today." She paused, almost adding that he'd helped her out earlier in the day. "He's kind of a jerk." She added finally.

"Well jerk or not, he's the best player in the state right now. And Chad Danforth is ranked well too."

"Troy's trusty sidekick." She muttered.

Antonio smiled at his daughter, "Well you don't have to be friends with them." She just shrugged in response. Antonio decided to continue, "I'm going to be on campus tomorrow, but I promise to keep my distance and not to bother you." He stood up and kissed the top of Gabriella's head before exiting room.

Gabriella groaned and pushed her AP Calculus book off her bed altogether. _Great, now everyone is going to know who my father is. Awesome. _And Gabriella knew there was no way of avoiding Troy after the basketball game. _I just had to be a hotshot. I had to show Troy up._

HSMHSMHSM

Rolling over to shut her alarm off, Gabriella groaned loudly. "I do not want to go to school today." she mumbled to no one. Throwing the covers back, she walked into her connecting bathroom to turn the shower on before going to grab a pair of light blue skinny jeans, brown flat boots, and a long sleeved loose peach shirt that had the slightest bit of shimmer to it.

Once she was dressed and had her hair pulled up into a low, curly ponytail, she walked downstairs to contemplate eating breakfast. "Gabi? Mija?" her mother broke into Gabriella's thoughts about Troy finding out who her father is.

"Yeah?" She looked down despondently.

"Mija, this boy, Troy, probably won't think he's your father. You've only been there one day." Anna Montez spooned eggs and bacon onto Carlos's plate. "Now come, eat something."

Gabriella shook her head, "I'm not hungry." She mumbled, picking up her bags, "I'll see you this afternoon. Love you Mama, love you Carlos." She dropped a kiss on her mom's cheek. "Have fun today Carlos." She kissed the top of his head, ruffling his hair when he cringed.

HSMHSMHSM

Troy stood in his usual spot, leaning agains the set of lockers, eyeing freshmen who wanted to ask him to move so they could get their books, but didn't want to disturb his morning routine. Glancing at his watch, he realized he'd been so distracted he only had time to count to five before turning to catch the basketball Chad threw.

He caught it with one hand.

"Dude, you turned late today!" Chad bobbed into view. "I almost go you today!" He pumped his fist in the air, "Now give me Lucille, you're not gentle enough with her." Troy tossed the ball back at Chad without a glance or a comment as he turned back to the front door of East High. _Where was she?_

"So the new U of A coach comes today." Chad punched Troy in the arm, "Excited?" Troy just shrugged. He wasn't discounting U of A, but it wasn't going to be his only option. "Dude why are you so intense?" Chad tried, unsuccessfully, to get Troy's attention.

"He's waiting for Gabriella Montez." Sharpay strutted up with Zeke and some tiny blonde girl following dutifully behind her. Troy tensed, but didn't respond. "Am I wrong?" She questioned.

"Um, Shar," Chad's eyes landed on the girl, "who is this?"

"This is," Sharpay paused, "some freshman who is my new personal assistant." Chad raised his eyebrows and look at Zeke who just shrugged. "I have a lot going on." She held out her hand for her phone. Zeke and Chad both rolled their eyes.

"You're such a princess." Sharpay glared at Troy, who wasn't even looking at her as he spoke. His eyes were still trained on the door.

"You're such an ass." She responded without hesitation. "Whatever, I need to go to the theater. Zeke? Girl?" She snapped her fingers and started walking. This time she let Zeke walk next to her so she could loop her arm through his.

"She's so strange. Where did we find her?" Chad asked, turning back to Troy who was just walking to the front door. Leaving Chad alone.

HSMHSM

Gabriella opened the front door glad to be inside. It was so cold outside. She noted Troy walking towards her, but decided to ignore him. She could feel him following her as she rounded the corner to the senior lockers. Stopping in front of her's, she continued to ignore him as she opened it and hung up her off white coat and brown scarf. Hanging up her bag, she began to organize her books in the order she would need them for the day.

"You know I can stand here all day long." Troy stretched his arms above his head and leaned back.

Gabriella didn't even grace the very calculated move with a glance, "Not interested kid." She picked up her AP Spanish books and shut her locker, walking away without another word.

Troy stood there, amused by her actions. She was trying to stay strong and stay away from him. What fascinated him the most about this beautiful girl was her complete control of her emotions. She was just like him. And he'd never met anyone just like him.

HSMHSMHSM

Gabriella was dreading lunch. She knew she wouldn't be able to avoid Troy, unless she didn't sit with them. But Taylor, Sharpay, and Kelsi had been attached to her all morning. And Chad wanted to know where she learned to play basketball so well. And she didn't want to answer that question.

"Ready for lunch?" Taylor pushed her chair back in AP Literature.

Gabriella opened her mouth and surprised even herself when she said, "No I'm not hungry. I'm going to study." Without any further explanation she made her way to her locker. As Gabriella started to pull out what books to take to the library, she suddenly decided what she really wanted to do was dance. Smiling, she grabbed her gym bag and headed to the locker room. Lucky for her, she was going to test out a dance studio that evening so she had yoga pants and an extra sports bra in her bag.

Hoping the gym was empty, she opened the door and smiled. She put her wireless headphones in her ears and set her iPhone on the bleachers. Standing in the middle of the gym, she closed her eyes and let the music flow through her. Her body moved effortlessly and without though.

HSMHSMHSM

"So where is she?" Chad asked Taylor, again, knowing Troy wanted to know, but wouldn't ask.

Taylor sighed, "I already told you. Library. You know, the place where the books live?" Zeke snickered at Taylor's response and Chad glared at both of them. "You know Chad, I've already been sidelined by a basketball, do I need to worry about Gabriella as well?" Taylor asked, eyeing Lucille with distaste.

"Baby," Chad took her hand, "no one can replace you." He kissed the back of her hand as she rolled her eyes.

"Cheesy." Ryan commented with a gag.

"Antonio Montez, these are my best players." Coach Jack Bolton came up with a tall, dark-haired man. "This is Troy Bolton, Chad Danforth, Zeke Baylor and Jason Cross." He paused, "Boys this is the new U of A coach, Antonio Montez."

"Montez?" Troy asked as he stood up. Antonio nodded, offering no further explanation.

"Your coach says I can watch a little two-on-two during your lunch and fee period. You boys up for that?" He asked.

The four boys nodded and stood, waving goodbye to the girls and Ryan as they followed Coach Bolton and Coach Montez out of the cafeteria.

"So Coach Montez," Jason sidled up next to him, "how do you like Albuquerque?" He asked.

Antonio nodded, "It's different than Florida. Much bigger than St. Augustine, I was the head coach at Flagler College."

"That's Division II, right?" Zeke asked. Antonio nodded a silent response.

HSMHSMHSM

Gabriella didn't notice the door open, her back was to it and her music was blaring in her ears as she raised her leg high over her head in a perfectly straight line. As a seasoned performer, she didn't notice the six sets of eyes on her, she was used to an audience.

Coach Bolton didn't know anyone, other than his basketball team, would be in the gym during lunch. Let alone a single new girl, dancing beautifully.

Troy watched Gabriella move, fascinated by the grace and beauty of each twirl. It was clear she was not moving to a choreographed, rehearsed routine. This was flowing out her, without any thought. Her eyes were closed as she moved in six consecutive circles before falling to the ground and raising herself up with only the strength of her clearly toned legs and her visibly strong, defined abs.

Antonio smiled at his only daughter. He knew she was disappointed her new school did not have a dance ensemble like her old schools did. She loved dancing. And she was very talented, like her mother, who was a professional ballerina for the Charleston Ballet Company when he'd met her. He glanced towards Coach Bolton, to see if he was going to interrupt Gabi. His eyes, however, lingered on Troy, who was entranced by Gabriella's fluid movements.

Jack Bolton cleared his throat, but Gabriella didn't hear him. Noting her phone on the bleachers, he walked over and picked it up. Double clicking on the screen, he brought the iPod feature up and paused the song. Gabriella stopped in mid movement, dropping her leg and fall off her toes onto the balls of her feet. Turning, she was startled to see Troy, Zeke, Chad, Jason, Coach Bolton and her father.

"Dad?" The word left her mouth before she could even stop it.

"Dad?" Troy, Zeke, and Chad repeated.

"Well that explains yesterday's basketball game." Jack Bolton chuckled, "Your daughter played incredibly well yesterday in gym." He explained.

Antonio laughed, "She is a natural with a basketball, but as you've now seen, she's a passionate dancer, like her mother."

"Wait," Jason held up his hands, "is your dad the U of A coach?" He asked. Everyone looked at him and Chad bounced Lucille off his head.

"She single-handedly beat Troy yesterday." Zeke told Coach Montez, "in a one-on-one game." He elaborated on Coach Bolton's earlier statement, ignoring Jason's idiotic question. Antonio Montez raised his eyebrows at his daughter, who'd left out that little detail when she talked about Troy the previous night.

Gabriella shrugged, making no comment and allowing the shock to fall off her face. She picked up her phone and made her way to the gym doors without so much as a goodbye.

Coach Bolton watched as the door slammed shut with an echoing bang. He turned to Antonio who had a wide grin spread across his face. He shrugged, just like his daughter, "That's my Gabi. She doesn't say much." He rubbed his hands together. "Let's see this two-on-two." He turned to face the four boys.

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Gabriella leaned against her gym locker and closed her eyes, "Secret's out." she muttered. The core of the basketball team knew. Now everyone was going to want to enjoy the major perks she received being a major sport's coach's daughter.

Deciding to take a quick shower, Gabriella grabbed her shampoo, conditioner and body wash before walking towards the long line of semi-clean showers.

15 minutes later, she made her way to the library to spend the rest of her free period working through homework. That was where Taylor found her. "There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere." Taylor sat down opposite of her, "Shar, Kels and Ry are in the theater rehearsing some songs and want our opinion. Let's go." Sighing inwardly, Gabriella collected the work she'd just started on and stood to follow Taylor the auditorium.

When the two girls walked in, they were greeted by Sharpay and Ryan loudly making weird noises and faces on stage. "What _are_ they doing?" Gabriella asked.

Taylor giggled, "Warming up their emotions and vocal chords." She explained.

"Uh huh," Gabriella nodded, "and that requires looking and sounding ridiculous?" She asked.

Taylor giggled again and grabbed her hand, dragging her down the center aisle to the front row. "Your audience has arrived." She announced, sitting down with a mock dramatic flourish, pulling Gabriella down with her.

"Good. Now Ryan and I want to know if we're outstanding or merely excellent. Sharpay turned to Kelsi. "Hit it."

Gabriella and Taylor watched as they stepped behind the curtain, only allowing their hands to show as they snapped to the grossly upbeat tempo. Gabriella instantly wanted to vomit. She felt her eyes widen and her mouth drop open as the curtain opened and the two stepped out, both sparkling. "It's hard to believe that I couldn't see . . ."

Two minutes later, when the horror ended, Kelsi wearily turned around on the piano bench as Sharpay and Ryan stepped center stage waiting for applause.

"So how were we?" Sharpay asked, when the reluctant applause died down.

Taylor and Gabriella looked at each other, unsure how to respond. The ringing of the bell saved them. "Time for gym!" Taylor jumped up, a little too excited. Sharpay frowned and stamped her foot, unhappy with the response.

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Gabriella shut her gym locker again. Her enthusiasm for the basketball unit gone after the incident at lunch. "Can we ditch?" Sharpay asked, "My freshman will get us all lattes if we do . . ." She threw the enticing idea out.

"Sorry, Coach Bolton has seen all of us Shar." Taylor pointed out, "Well except Gabriella."

Gabriella shook her head, "Nope, I've seen him today. Let's just get this over with." She led the group out of the locker room and into the gym.

The girls entered just as Coach Bolton blew his whistle, "Let's start with a warm up. Four laps." He looked down at this clipboard as the group started running. When he looked back up, he noted Gabriella was half a lap ahead of Zeke. He could tell she was trying to keep frustration off her face. Frustration he was sure somehow stemmed from her developing and evolving relationship with Troy.

Troy watched Gabriella push herself to the front of the group for a moment before deciding he wanted answers, like why she seemed aggravated by her father's job. Picking up speed, he forced himself to Zeke's speed, "Don't go near her." Zeke looked at Troy and forced himself to slow down, which ultimately led to the class as a whole slowing down. Troy pushed himself even harder and finally caught up with her, "Little lady." He panted.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Out of breath kid?" She asked glancing at him before kicking it up another notch, putting more space between them.

Troy gritted his teeth and matched her pace, "Not a long distance runner." He took an uneven breath, "Why didn't you tell us who your father was?" He asked.

She slowed as she came to the end of her fourth lap, "You never asked what my dad did."

He was surprised she gave any answer, "But you knew we were all on the basketball team." He was trying to get his breathing under control.

"I'm not sure you understand Troy. I don't care about you or what you do. It doesn't affect me. I'm not trying to be your friend." Troy hid a smirk, she was snapping, he'd wanted to see her snap, to see the fire light up in her deep brown eyes.

She realized she snapped after she yelled at him. _Why does he want to be my friend anyhow? _"Let me be clear," Troy took a step closer to her, "I don't want to be your friend Gabriella." He watched, amused, as she tried to fight the shock of his words off her face.

The whistle blowing interrupted their interaction.

She took an involuntary step back. _The what did he want? _

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XOXO

MAS


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Clearly I do not own the High School Musical franchise._

**Chapter 3: No Drama. No Complications. No Game.**

The one place where Gabriella felt completely at home during the school day was in a science lab. She loved mixing chemicals, writing equations and dissecting the anatomy of animals, particularly ocean animals. Marine Biology was her dream. It was her favorite course. And she missed it. Tossing her books on her lab desk, she laid her head on top of the pile and turned to look out the window.

"Gabi?" Zeke came to sit next to her, "You okay?"

Gabriella raised her head. She liked Zeke, he was nice. How he was able to stand Sharpay was beyond her. "I'm fine Zeke, just tired." He nodded and didn't push her. "How was your two-on-two game?" She didn't know why she was asking.

He nodded, "Troy and I kicked Jason and Chad's asses." He paused, "You're an incredible dancer Gabi." He wasn't sure if he should actually say anything, but he'd been wanting to tell her that.

She was going to respond, but someone cleared her throat. Zeke and Gabriella looked up to see Tiara, or Sharpay's freshman. "Gabriella, Sharpay requests that you meet her in the theater after school." Gabriella nodded and Tiara scurried off.

"God if I have to listen to that awful song again, I'll kill your girlfriend." Gabriella faced Zeke and gave him a small, timid smile

Zeke gave her a big grin, indicating it was okay to talk to him, "Yeah most of her's and Ryan's songs suck. But I didn't say that." He winked at her as their teacher came into the room. Gabriella even let a little giggle slip from her lips.

Taylor and Kelsi watched Gabriella's interaction with Zeke from across the classroom. She seemed like she was relaxing. Taylor didn't understand Gabriella at all. She was fascinating through, and she had Troy enthralled, which was even stranger. However played out, it would be interesting. And Taylor loved watching new, unpredictable situations, especially those involving Troy. She loved seeing how he would react to new people and new situations. Particularly ones that challenged him. Even though he could get positively dangerous if he didn't get his way.

Kelsi was thinking something completely different as she watched Gabriella interact with Zeke. Kelsi knew this would happen one day, she just wasn't sure when. Someone would walk through East High's doors who would challenge and fascinate Troy. Not challenge him like Sharpay did. Sharpay just argued with him and wanted her way. She was a princess. No Troy was going to meet someone who was just as difficult to read as he was. Someone everyone would gravitate to who he couldn't read like an open book. Someone who would fascinate him, who he would obsess over, who he would unintentionally fall in love with and he would let in. And Gabriella Montez was that person. Kelsi could already see Troy falling in love with her.

Kelsi didn't realize she'd spent all of AP Chemistry thinking about the potential of Troy and Gabriella's future relationship until Taylor hit her arm, "Come on Kels, it's the end of the day. Let's go home." Kelsi nodded, smiling an apology to Taylor. Looking over her shoulder she saw Gabriella was already gone.

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When Gabriella walked into the theater, the room was pitch black, "Damn it Sharpay! I don't have time for this shit!" She wailed, hoping the blonde would at least turn on the lights. Not knowing where the switch was, she made her way down the center aisle with the help of the backlight of her phone. Taking a seat in the dark, she muttered, "Unbelievable Sharpay, unfuckingbelievable."

Deciding to give Sharpay five minutes, she was shocked when a single spotlight flashed on. And Sharpay was sitting on a stool in black sequined leggings and a black tank top studded in rhinestones. "Oh boy." Gabriella murmured.

"Gabriella Montez." Sharpay began in a monotone voice, "The mysterious new student. Who she is or where she came from nobody knows," Gabriella rolled her eyes, _isn't that a line from Cinderella? _"but this fascinating beauty has captured the attention of East High's dangerous Troy Bolton." Sharpay covered her eyes, "He wants to know who she is. HE wants to know why she is the way she is." She shook her head, "No it's more than wants. He needs to know. Or he will go insane." Gabriella rolled her eyes again. Sharpay's other hand stretched out in front of her, "He will convert to the cold-hearted bad boy who destroys anyone who comes in his path." She paused dramatically, "If Gabriella is to save East High from certain destruction, she will open her heart up to Troy and she will trust Sharpay." Gabriella snorted at Sharpay's words. Just as suddenly as the light came on, it went out.

"I'm out of here Sharpay." Gabriella stood quickly and stumbled her way up the center aisle. As she skirted quickly through the school, Gabriella wondered, _What the fuck was that? Did Troy put her up to it? No, maybe he asked her to talk to me, but certainly Troy didn't come up with that harebrained scheme. _Grabbing her books from her locker, Gabriella darted to her car, not wanting to run into anyone who may still be on campus.

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"Come on Carlos, go to the left." Gabriella could hear her father and brother playing basketball in the backyard when she pulled up to her house. Not wanting to talk to anyone, Gabriella walked into the house as quietly as possible. Once she was in her room, she shut her door and walked into her bathroom. _A nice bath will help me clear my head._

Stripping down, Gabriella sunk in the tub. _Troy Bolton. _It only took a moment for her mind to wonder to the blue eyes that bore into her's this afternoon in the gym. He didn't want to be friends. _So what did he want? What would he do to get it? Was he dangerous? What kind of destruction could he cause? What did Sharpay mean? Or was she just blowing smoke? Lord knew she was melodramatic enough. I mean a single spotlight. _Gabriella groaned and submerged herself completely in the bathtub. But when she came back up, she could still see Troy's eyes staring at her. Then it hit her, "Why do I care?" She asked aloud.

Deciding the bath hadn't worked, Gabriella got out and pulled on a pair of comfy sweats. "Homework." She muttered. Homework may be a good distraction Settling on her bed, she opened her book bag and pulled out _Anna Karenina _to begin her reading for AP Literature.

Gabriella hadn't noticed three hours has passed until there was a knock at her door, "Mija?" Her mother poked her head in the room, "Are you hungry?

Gabriella leaned back and closed her eyes, "Not really Mama, I just want to finish my homework and go to bed."

Anna nodded, "Okay Mija." She paused, "Your father said you were dancing beautifully today." She smiled before shutting the door.

Gabriella pinched the bridge of her nose, Troy had seen her dancing. Only Zeke had mentioned it so far, but she was Troy would make some comment about it the next day. And she wasn't sure why, but it bothered her.

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And Gabriella was not wrong.

This particular morning, Troy was waiting for her at her locker. When she first approached, she ignored him, just opening her locker without a word. Deciding he wanted her attention, he did just as he had the moment they'd met, entrapping her. "So my little lady is a ballerina." _His little lady?_

"Troy," she turned around, trying to remain composed when she was faced with his blue eyes, "what _do _you want?"

He smirked, bringing one hand up to tuck a stray curl behind her ear, letting his fingers trail down her cheek, neck, arm and finally resting on her hip, "I'm not sure yet."

She rolled her eyes and pushed his hand off her hip, "Well I am and that is nothing from you."

He shook his head, "Well then we're going to have a problem." His eyes hardened. The blue hue darkened. Gabriella had to fight off the shiver that wanted to course through her body at the look his was giving her. It was positively dangerous.

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Glad that her first period was free, Gabriella decided to wander around the school, looking for a place uninhabited by other students. During her search, she discovered a rooftop garden. Settling on a bench out in the sun, she stretched out, using her khaki blazer as a pillow. She tugged down her jean shirt as it rose up over her stomach and propped her legs, covered by white jeans and tan boots, up on the bench arm. She closed her eyes and began working out the twisted equation that was Troy Bolton. She'd always liked equations and problem-solving. Now she just had to apply this process to Troy.

Secure in her belief that no one would bother, her Gabriella began to work the equation aloud, "Okay," she talked to herself, "what are my options?" She paused, "Troy or no Troy." She nodded. "Troy means what?" She paused at length. "Troy means whatever _he _wants it to mean. Friends, complicated relationship, fuck buddies, study buddies, that is currently entirely up to Troy." Again she paused, "Not Troy means cutting off all contact. Whatever he's thinking about, we can't just be two people who eat lunch together. He wants something." Gabriella thought for another moment before determining that was the only answer. "No if I go with Troy, I'm going to have all those other people. Zeke is nice though. But my God Sharpay!" She sighed, "And then there's what about Sharpay was yammering on about yesterday." She groaned, "Now no Troy means nobody else. Which was the plan. No friends. No boyfriend. No drama. Join a dance studio. Graduate. Leave. That's it." She closed her eyes thinking about Chad, Jason, Zeke, Sharpay, Taylor, Kelsi and Ryan. "If I'm letting Troy go, then I should do it now. No harm, no foul with everyone else."

She thought about it for the next twenty minutes. IT all came down to if she wanted to deal with the mood of that blue eyed boy. "I just want to be left alone." She yelled as the bell rang. Sitting up, she realized that was it. She just wanted to be left alone. No Troy. No friends.

Standing up, Gabriella put her blazer back on and collected her AP Government books. She made her way to the classroom and sat down, not even glancing at Taylor, Zeke or Kelsi. The easiest way to do this would be to pass it onto Troy. _His mood will tell them all they need to know._

When the bell rang, Gabriella left the class without waiting. She moved through her morning classes that way. Ignoring Taylor, or anyone else in her class. When lunch rolled around she strolled confidently past their table, she made no moves when Sharpay said her name. Instead, she sat down at a small table in the corner of the room alone. Opening her lunch box, she pulled out her sandwich and a book, deciding to ignore the rest of the school altogether, which was her plan before she moved here.

"Why is she sitting alone?" Kelsi asked, "What did you do Troy?"

Troy glanced at Kelsi, whose confidence wavered under his ice cold stare, "This isn't my fault. I'll just go get her to prove it. This is Sharpay's fault." He looked at Sharpay, "Ryan told me what you did." Ryan ducked his head when Sharpay turned to look at him.

Troy pushed his chair back and stalked over to Gabriella's small table. He pulled up a chair loudly and sat down with a bang. When Gabriella didn't look up from her book he said, "Taylor said you were a book worm, but I never thought it'd make you this blatantly rude."

She shut her book, "I'm out Troy." He stared at her, still amused, which pissed her off even more, "I don't want to play your game. I don't want to be your friend or anything. I don't want to be friends with Taylor, Sharpay, Kelsi, Zeke, Ryan, Chad or Jason. I want to be left alone. I just want to get through senior year without drama or complications. And you are drama and complications."

He sat back in his chair, unsure of how to proceed. He could tell one wrong word may set her of. And he didn't think that was a good idea. "You really don't get to dictate what games I play." He sighed and folded his hands over his stomach, letting his chair tip back on its hind legs.

"Yes I can, when they involve me. I don't want to play and you can't make me. Keep bothering me if you want, but as of now I'm through speaking to you, unless a class requires it." She stood up, collecting her things, "By kid."

Troy watched as she walked out of the cafeteria. She was so sure of herself. So sure she didn't want friends. Didn't need relationships. She wanted to be alienated. Her bold statements made her even more fascinating. And her strength made her more beautiful. Troy held in a groan, he was trapped. He had to know her. He had to break her.

But he didn't want to hurt her.

He didn't notice Zeke come take come and take Gabriella's now empty seat, "Let me guess, she doesn't want to play."

Troy shook his head, "She doesn't want any of us. She doesn't want friends." Zeke nodded, _She's exactly like Troy. She wants to be in control and she's afraid of relinquishing it to even friends. _

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Gabriella was kicking herself. It was easy to cut everyone out, except Zeke. Her lab partner for the remainder of the year. She couldn't just ignore him. When he sat down next to her in AP Chemistry, she didn't know what to do. She chose to stare straight ahead until she could make a decision.

"It's okay Gabi." He broke her internal debate. "We can just be lab partners." She looked at him skeptically. "As long as we're the lab partners that kick all the other groups' asses."

This time she smiled, "Thank you Zeke. And I'm sorry."

He shook his head, "Don't apologize, it's okay. I understand. You just want to get out and Troy's games can bring anyone down."

Even though he was being understanding, Gabriella still felt guilty. Zeke was nice and uncomplicated, but in this group it seemed to be all or none. "Still, _you're _a nice guy Zeke."

He held his hands up, "We're an all for one and all for one group, and that is complicated. That doesn't mean you and I can't be lab buddies though. Right Gabi?" She smiled and nodded her assent to the relationship.

By the end of the day, Gabriella felt okay about her plan. But this wasn't surprising. The hardest part for her was making the decision. She was curious if Troy was going to leave her alone or not though. _I guess I'll find out tomorrow. He'd been unusually quiet in gym, just continuing with the passing and shooting lessons from the day before. _

_Tomorrow will be a new day. _

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Read and Review

XOXO

MAS


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Clearly I do not own the High School Musical franchise.

Chapter Four: Friends

Two weeks. She was surprised. Two weeks and Troy had not even glanced her way. The only person she'd talked to was Zeke. She liked Zeke. He was smart and nice and simple. And didn't play games. The truth was, that was the whole problem. Every school had a Troy. Someone who toyed with the new students. And she was tired of being that person.

And now she wasn't.

And because she wasn't, she felt like she could finally settle into the school. Into Albuquerque even. She joined a dance studio and loved it. The teacher, Missy, was phenomenal. It felt good to be dancing again. To spend all her spare time letting the rest of the world drip away. She smiled as she walked into the studio, happy to be here on a Thursday afternoon.

Tossing her bag in the corner, she began stretching. She looked up when the door opened and smiled at Zeke. Missy was letting her choreograph a solo piece and Zeke was going to give her his opinion since no one else had seen it.

"Thanks for coming." She stood up and gave him a hug.

"Hey you agreed to test taste my concoction tonight for next weekend's baking competition." He laughed and shoved his hands in his pockets, "It's the least I could do." She smiled and laughed, continuing to stretch. Zeke was so easy to be with. She could be silent and he would fill it or let them rest comfortably in it. "Let's see what crappy dance you've come up with." He poked fun at her.

She rolled her eyes and walked over to the stereo, plugging in her iPhone, "I'm sure it's better than your dessert." She retorted. Now it was Zeke's turn to laugh. He understood why she didn't want to deal with Troy, but he was glad he could loosely call her a friend. He loved Taylor, Kelsi, Ryan, Jason and Chad, but Troy dictated their moods. And Sharpay was her own beast. And for the past two weeks, Troy had been miserable. All because Gabs told him to leave her alone. Zeke was surprised he'd lasted, because he seemed to almost need her ever since he'd laid eyes on her. And his need was growing and unsatisfied.

The music filling the room forced Zeke to focus on Gabs, who was standing in the center of the studio, rather than on Troy and his needs. Zeke watched in amazement as Gabriella floated throughout the room, her leg rising up, then down, the way she leapt and spun with such ease and grace. Anyone else would've fallen over at any given moment, but Gabriella seemed so sturdy, even as she appeared to be so delicate.

As the track ended, Zeke stood up from his stool and clapped, "Gabs that was incredible!" He gave her a tight hug, "That was beautiful. You're so talented. It was… wow!"

Gabriella blushed at the praise, "Thanks Z. Let me go change quickly then we can head to your place so I can test taste this dessert of yours." She disappeared into the back and reappeared dressed in skinny jeans, black boots, a loose fitting red tank top and a gray sweater.

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Zeke and Gabriella pulled up in front of his house and went inside. Over the past two weeks, Gabriella had become a regular at Zeke's house and he at her's thanks to a very big AP Chemistry exam.

"Gabs!" Zeke's younger twin sisters, who were three, and his younger brother, who was eight, came flying down the hallway at her.

"Kiddos!" She got on her knees and opened her arms, allowing them to pummel into her.

"We eat outside!" Carrie raised her arms excitedly as she pointed out the window.

"So pretty outside!" Carol echoed Carrie's sentiments.

"Well then let's go!" Gabriella scooped them up as Zeke threw his brother, Daniel, over his shoulder.

"Hey Gabriella!" Zeke's mother, Susan, greeted her as she held the kitchen patio door open, "Dinner is already set up, how was the dance?"

"Hi Mrs. Baylor. I think it went well. Z seemed to like it." She dumped Carrie and Carol on a cushioned bench in front of the large table.

"Mom it was awesome. Gabs is so incredible. It's so pretty the way she moves." Zeke looked at Gabriella, watching the blush creep up on her face. An emotion the students at East High were never allowed to see.

"Z is being much too nice. It still needs work. I think he's trying to butter me up to taste this concoction of his." Gabriella replied.

"Better you than me Gabs." Mr. Baylor dropped a plate of meat on the table, "It doesn't look appetizing at all."

"Thanks so much for the help Dad. I need the test taster here to at least try a bite of it." Zeke grumbled, sitting down next to Gabriella.

"Don't worry Z, I'm sure I can choke at least a bite down." She poked his side playfully.

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Two hours later, Gabriella sat at the island in the Baylor kitchen watching Zeke spoon some sort of pudding cake mixture in a bowl. "Z what is it?"

"Baylor's Pudding Cake Delight." Zeke answered. Gabriella chose not to respond.

Gabriella took a timid bite of the pudding cake. She was surprised that the chocolate mix had a hint of coconut and cherry in it. "Oh my God, Z, this is amazing." She took another bite and made a guttural noise of pleasure. "Incredible." She moaned.

"So I take it you like it." He asked.

Holding out the now empty bowl she asked, "More?"

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Friday morning Zeke sat on a bench in the rooftop garden waiting for Gabriella. They'd made plans to go over their AP Chemistry homework before Homeroom. He glanced at his watch, "Gabs is never late until I actually need help." He muttered.

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Gabriella stood with her back against a row of lockers in the Girls' Locker Room. She'd done a quick morning run before she planned on meeting Zeke. She wasn't planning on running into three rather large football players.

"Boys," she raised her arms defensively while doing her best to stand her ground, keep her voice steady and her face calm, "this is the Girls' Locker Room. Now I'm quite sure you don't belong here. You really should go before you get in trouble." Her back hit the lockers with a bang when the three took a step towards her.

"You see Gabriella, we've been thinking," one of the boys motioned between the three of them, "you are a girl who really shouldn't be single. You're far too pretty." His hand reached out to stroke her face.

It took all of Gabriella's strength not to flinch. Instead she slapped his hand away. "I'm happy being single. Thank you for the offer though." Her words were laced with sarcasm.

"Well we have an offer." The second boy's touch on her arm sent shivers down her spine. In a very different way from Troy's touch.

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Zeke bounded down the stairs and into the hallway five minutes before the Homeroom bell was supposed to ring. "Troy!" he called down the hall to the group leaning up against the freshman lockers.

"Zekey!" Sharpay squealed, "I've been looking for you all morning." She pouted a little, trying to get his attention.

Zeke waved her off, "Dude, I know Gabriella wants nothing to do with you, but I think something's wrong." Troy tried to look uncaring, "We were supposed to meet to go over Chemistry homework and she didn't show up. She's never late and she'd never not show without a text or a call."

"Do you spend a lot of time with her?" Sharpay asked, her voice hitching.

"Dude trust me, this isn't good." Zeke emphasized his point.

Troy stood there, debating what to do. His first reaction was to turn the school upside down looking for her. Of course he knew what she did first thing every morning. He watched her carefully, from a distance. He couldn't help it. He just had to. That's why he wasn't surprised she was supposed to meet Zeke in the rooftop garden. That was where they met. And where she spent every morning after she worked out.

After a moment, Troy nodded. Chad jumped I, "Okay team, let's break down this school." He pulled a piece of paper out of Taylor's binder, of course he didn't have one of his own, and held out his hand for a pencil. She handed him one. "I'm trusting you with Lucille while I write." He handed her his basketball with care. "Wait! We should all synchronize our watches first."

"Chad, we're not Charlie's Angels." Taylor rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.

Troy pushed of the lockers, "Whatever, I'm heading to the gym and locker rooms." He walked off.

"Troy!" Sharpay called after him. "I'm coming with you." Troy rolled his eyes and didn't even slow down, she'd just have to catch up. And she did, he could hear her clicking four inch stilettos on the tile floor.

They walked in silence for a minute before Sharpay asked, "Why the gym and locker rooms?"

Troy sighed and ran his hand through his hair, pushing the gym door opened, "She either runs or dances every morning."

"And you know that how?" Sharpay knew the answer to this question from previous experience, but she wanted to hear Troy admit it. He didn't respond. "So has she been spending a lot of time with Zeke?"

"They're friends." Troy responded. "They spend a lot of time together." He glanced at her sideways, "You didn't know?"

Sharpay frowned, "No and I don't like it." Troy pushed the door to the Girls' Locker Room open, "You can't . . . nevermind." Sharpay muttered, her objections to Troy entering the Girls' Locker Room dying.

The two of them stopped short at the sight. Gabriella's body was heaving and sobs were wracking through her. "Stop!" She was trying to push the three football players off of her as she readjusted her sports bra.

"Hey!" Troy got their attention.

"Troy!" She gasped, trying to squeeze past them. She was shoved violently against the lockers.

"Sorry Troy, you didn't fight for her. We will." One of the boys responded.

"Hm," Troy started taking a step forward, "you're not fighting for her, Goff, you're attacking her." His hand slammed into the locker next to the boy's face. "And you know I don't tolerate that."

Gabriella whimpered and Goff took a step back.

"Three against one Troy," The second boy taunted, "I wouldn't like those odds if I were you."

Troy shrugged, unphased, as he came to tower over him, "Really Diston, you think so?" Diston cowered under Troy's icy stare. "Sharpay, take Gabriella to the rooftop garden. Zeke knows where it is." He didn't take his eyes of Diston.

Sharpay nodded and moved towards Gabriella, who gladly ran into the blonde's arms. Before leaving, Sharpay turned to the three boys, "Diston, Goff, and Green,, if you know what's good for you in this school, you will stay the fuck away from Gabriella." Greene went to respond, but Sharpay cut him off, "Do you really think your reputations will survive a beating from me?" She asked, "That may hurt worse than a beating from Troy."

And they knew she was right.

Leaving them with that note, Sharpay herded Gabriella out of the Girls' Locker Room. "Do you know where the rooftop garden is?" Sharpay asked.

Gabriella nodded, still not trusting her voice. Sharpay let her silently guide them through the now empty hallways. When they climbed the stairs and entered the garden, they found Taylor, Chad, Ryan and Kelsi sitting on benches in a tense silence.

"Thank God." Taylor jumped up, pulling Gabriella in a hug, "Oh my gosh Gabriella are you okay?" She rubbed gentle circles on Gabriella's back.

"Where's Troy?" Kelsi asked quietly, standing up to guide Gabriella to a bench in the sunlight.

"Dealing with Diston, Green and Goff." Sharpay answered, kneeling in front of Gabriella, "Hey, those guys won't bother you anymore." She assured Gabriella, who was still shaking.

"We couldn't find her. And now I'm really freaking out." Zeke and Jason came into view. "Oh Lord, Gabs!" Zeke flew to her side, taking Kelsi's place as she moved.

"I'm okay Z." She leaned her head against his shoulder, gladly letting him wrap his arms around her. After a moment he pulled away, yanking off his jacket and draping it over her shaking shoulders. "I didn't know they watched me every morning." She sniffed, "I didn't even know who they were."

No one noted Troy had appeared. "I'm sorry Gabriella, I never thought they'd actually approach you."

She looked up, "You knew they were watching me?" Her gaze hardened. "Why didn't you tell me or stop it?"

"You wanted me to leave you alone." He reminded her.

"But if you knew they were watching me, then that means you're either watching them or me. My guess is you're watching me. That's not exactly leaving me alone. And if you knew I could get hurt then aren't you obligated to stop it. As a human being. Or are you so distant emotionally and off in your own world where only your needs matter that you would let another person get hurt?" She stood up. "And all this means you know I'm friends with Zeke so at the very least you could've told him. Then maybe this wouldn't have happened." She gestured around her. "I was alone with them for thirty minutes. Thirty fucking minutes Troy. How dare you. You knew I was in danger." She screamed.

"You told me not to care." He responded coolly.

"Yeah, well you certainly did a good job with that, now didn't you. Now things will never be the same. Ever. I will never be the same. And that's all thanks to you." She snapped. She shuddered, "I don't think I'm staying here today. I don't think I ever want to even look at you again Troy Bolton. Not after that. I can't stay here." She repeated as she pushed away from Troy.

"Gabs." Zeke stood and followed her with Sharpay trailing behind him. Gabriella ignored them, sprinting through the now deserted hallways to her locker. She struggled with the dial, unable to steady her hand.

"Hey," Sharpay's voice was unusually soft, "let me help." Gabriella let out a small sob and backed into Zeke's open arms.

"36-26-30." She whispered the combination. Sharpay opened the locker and pulled out her purse.

"How about Zeke and I take you back to my house. It's empty." She suggested. Gabriella nodded, allowing Sharpay to wrap her arm around her waist as they followed Zeke to his car.

HSMHSMHSM

Gabriella's mouth dropped when Zeke pulled up in front of Sharpay's house. Although house did not seem like the correct word. McMansion worked better. "We're home." Sharpay chirped as she led the way up the front walk.

"This is home?" Gabriella asked.

"The two lockers, personal parking spot, freshman assistant, and ridiculous amount of clothes and jewelry didn't clue you in?" Zeke asked, poking Gabriella in the side. Frowning when she winced.

"Guys, come on!" Sharpay waved them forward.

Gabriella followed Sharpay and Zeke into the entryway of Sharpay's home. "Wow, Sharpay, this is amazing." It was too modern for Gabriella's taste, but it was still beautiful

Zeke clapped his hands together, "Who's hungry?" He asked.

Sharpay perked up, "ME!" She glanced at Gabriella who looked uncomfortable, "How about El and I go put on something more comfortable while you scrounge up whatever we've got?" Zeke nodded and peeled off down an adjoining hallway. "Now how about we get you in the shower and out of those clothes?" Gabriella nodded and followed Sharpay down a winding maze of hallways and upstairs.

"Sharpay how do you not get lost?" Gabriella asked.

The blonde shrugged and pulled out a pair of blue jeans and a light pink tank top, "Let me get you a new bra and pair of underwear."

"Oh Sharpay you don't have," Gabriella went to protest, but Sharpay stopped her.

"Seriously, El, it's nothing." She came out of her closet holding pink underwear and a white bra. "I like pink." Sharpay said pointing to the pink bathroom, which was off the very pink bedroom. Gabriella chose not to comment.

Gabriella shut the bathroom door and set the clothes on the counter. She sighed and carefully lifted her running top. Bruises were already starting to form. She was peeled her sports bra off, wincing. She was already sore. Sighing, she leaned forward and analyze the red marks forming on her chest. They'd been brutal. Pulling down her pants, she sighed again at the small amount of spotting. She closed her eyes and leaned against the cool countertop.

Pushing away, she turned on the shower and stepped under the hot water. It felt good, slightly searing her skin. She picked up Sharpay's pink shower gel, carefully rubbing the pink washcloth over her body, trying to wipe away the dried sweat and blood. Using the shampoo and conditioner, Gabriella scrubbed her scalp, wincing a little as she lifted her arms above her head.

Stepping out of the shower, Gabriella wrapped a bright pink, fluffy towel around her body. She closed her eyes and sat on the toilet, fighting off the tears that her body wanted her to succumb to. Standing up, she shook her head and started to get dressed, suddenly feeling very grateful she hadn't cut Zeke out of her life and feeling guilty for pushing away Sharpay just because she was loud and eccentric.

It took Gabriella nearly five minutes to find the stairs that led downstairs and then another five minutes to find the hallway that led to the kitchen. She essentially followed the smell of Zeke's homemade breakfast pizza as it baked in the oven. She paused when she heard voices, standing outside of the kitchen doorway.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was friend with Gabs." Zeke was apologizing to Sharpay.

"It's okay," Sharpay relented, "she needed someone. I just can't believe Troy." She stomped her foot, "didn't he realize she would have no chance against those three, no one would."

"I know, well, Troy and Gabs are both stubborn and I think she's been a school punching bag before. Ad Troy starting his game probably reminded her of that. She just didn't realize he'd fallen for her. None of us did." He sighed, "I just, I don't know. She's really cool Shar. And smart, and nice, and funny. She's a good friend. You'd really like her." He wrapped his arms back around Sharpay, "A lot. Give her a chance."

Sharpay laughed, "I gave her my panties. I think we're good." She gave him a peck on the lips.

He laughed too, "Good, now let me finish this food."

"Hey guys." Gabriella came into view.

"Hey Gabs." Zeke looked at her, trying to figure out what to say or do so she would really smile.

"Hi Z." She gave him a small smile, but she knew it wasn't convincing.

"So," Sharpay propped herself on the counter, "what do you want to do today El?"

Gabriella leaned uncomfortably against the island, "Um, it doesn't matter."

"Since we're skipping school, let's do something crazy!" She suggested.

"Shar?" Zeke asked, "Crazy like normal people or like you?"

"What's the difference?" Gabriella asked.

"We wound up in Paris last time." Zeke responded.

Gabriella's eyes widened, "How about we do not crazy by Sharpay's standards then." She suggested.

Sharpay nodded and tapped her fingers against her chin. The small action made Gabriella very nervous. "Let's go shopping." She settled on, "After we eat."

Gabriella sighed in relief, "That sounds fun."

"To this mall outside of Albuquerque." Sharpay added.

Zeke and Gabriella looked at Sharpay carefully, "How far outside of Albuquerque?" Zeke asked.

HSMHSMHSM

Four hours later, Sharpay pulled her family's spare car into a mall parking log, "Sharpay, it's already 1 o'clock. How long are we going to spend here?" Zeke asked.

"I'm so dead." Gabriella mumbled, "My parents are so going to kill me when I get home."

"Just tell them you're spending the night with me." Sharpay shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Sharpay, they won't let that happen when they find out I skipped school today." She patiently explained. Maybe things worked differently with the Evans family.

Zeke shook her head, "It's taken care of."

Gabriella scrunched up her face, "How?"

"Troy. He uses his dad whenever we skip. And he's including you. He knows to. Don't worry." He paused, "Just call your mom and go ahead and tell her you have plans tonight. It is Friday after all." Zeke elaborated.

Gabriella didn't believe them. And her stubborn nature wanted to prove them wrong. She pulled her phone out and called her dad. "Hey Daddy, no I'm in my free period." She paused, "Can I spend the night with a friend. No not Zeke. His girlfriend, Sharpay Evans. Yes, those Evans. Okay. Is everything going okay? Should I call Mom? Oh she's there. And she's okay? No reason. Love y'all. See you tomorrow." She hung up.

"Told ya El." Sharpay smiled and opened the Mercedes door.

Zeke followed her slowly, allowing Gabriella to catch up. "It's the one for all, all for one mindset." He answered her unasked question.

"But after I told him to leave me alone. And then yelled at him. And he still did this?" She asked.

"Gabs, Troy is just strange." Zeke started to explain, "He decided on day one that he wanted to protect you. And so he's going to. He honestly didn't think you were in danger." Zeke defended Troy's earlier actions, even though he didn't agree with them.

"But he was so pissed, it would make sense that you didn't get a warning." Sharpay explained, "Zeke wouldn't have known this because Troy was mad at you for being friends with El. Especially because she let you in when she'd call him out." Sharpay sighed, "It was his jealousy and pride." She patted Zeke's arm, "He's glad you were her friend though."

Gabriella remained quiet, trying to understand exactly who Troy was. The only thing that seemed consistent about Troy was that he is incredibly inconsistent. I couldn't tell what he wanted from me. And those games. What were we? He'd never really gotten to play with me. I'd been so adamant. And he listened. Which I couldn't believe it. Again, inconsistent.

"Has he ever not played the game?" Gabriella found herself asking the question of Sharpay that had been eating away at her an hour later while they were in a very pink store. Zeke left them for a cooking store. "Or quit because someone asked him to?"

Sharpay paused, running her fingers over a velvet pink skirt. "No. If he plays, he plays. He always finishes what he starts. And no one has told him to stop. Every girl wants him. And they get his attention during the game and by the end of the game they usually get him for a night or two." She moved away from the skirt to a velvet dress. "You're the first. It's why I think he fell in love with you."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "He doesn't know me."

Sharpay shrugged, "I fell in love with Zeke after I ate one of his cookies." She paused, "Taylor fell in love with Chad the first time he asked her a chemistry question. Kelsi fell in love with Ryan the first time they sang a duet." She shrugged again, "It happens quickly. Troy fell in love with you when you stood up to him." She sighed, "And you fell in love with him when he challenged you." She groaned, "I hate velvet in clothing. It's so tacky." Gabriella had to laugh as they moved into a section of silk. Most things about Sharpay were tacky, but she now could understand why Zeke loved her. She was smart, witty, quick, beautiful and incredibly caring and selfless when it came down to her friends and family.

HSMHSMHSM

Read and Review

XOXO

MAS


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Clearly I don't own the High School Musical franchise._

**Chapter Five: Who Wants Who? **

A sleepover at Sharpay Evan's house would have made her stomach church even yesterday. Now, she couldn't be happier. She needed a girlfriend, even if she was certifiably insane. Which she most definitely was.

Gabriella leaned back on the sofa, curled up a fluffy blanket, which was thankfully not pink, wrapped up in Sharpay's bright pink pajamas. Sharpay was sprawled out on the floor flipping through her extensive DVD collection. Zeke had just left them. He said he was going home, but Gabriella figured he was going straight to Troy to report on her day. She could've stopped him, but she decided not to. Two weeks ago she decided not to have anything to do with him or any of his friends. Now, she wasn't so sure. Now she wasn't sure she wanted to fight him. She almost wanted to cave to him.

"El?" Gabriella looked up, Sharpay was sitting up staring at her impatiently.

"Sorry Pay, what's up?"

"Comedy, Horror, Romance, Tragedy? What are you feeling?" she asked.

"Oh, um, comedy." Gabriella decided.

Sharpay moved to one section of the case. _Of course her movies were organized by genre. _"_The Proposal?" _She asked, "Or _The Ugly Truth?" _"Or _27 Dresses?"_

Gabriella thought for a moment, "_The Proposal_." She decided.

Halfway through the movie, Sharpay was staring at Gabriella, not watching the movie. Gabriella shifted uncomfortably under her critical gaze. "Yes Sharpay?" She finally asked.

"What are you going to do about Troy?" Leave it to Sharpay to delve right into the heart of the matter bothering me Gabriella thought.

She sighed, "I don't know." She responded after a full minute of thought. "I guess it all depends on whether or not I want to play this game. And I don't like games."

"But you don't know what the game is." Sharpay pointed out.

"Does it matter?" Gabriella countered, "I can guess what it entails, dragging me around. Making me feel something for him just to have my feelings dangled in front of me. Wanting him, getting him, just to have him taken away when someone new comes along. Or to have him just to end up in different places for college." She eyed Sharpay, "How am I doing so far?"

Sharpay sighed, "You nailed Troy's game." She paused again, "You know how I ended up with Zeke?" She asked.

"You ate one of his cookies?" She guessed.

Sharpay twirled a piece of hair around her finger and averted her gaze. "I was playing the game." Gabriella's eyebrow rose in shock, "I was 16, we were 16. We were sophomores. And I was this spoiled princess who just wanted Troy Bolton. He was hot, he was popular. And I wanted him. People were terrified of me. They were terrified of Troy. I thought we'd be perfect together. And I somehow piqued his interest. I haven't asked and he hasn't offered up that information. I have no idea how, but I did." She pulled her hair up in a high ponytail. "One day, I walked into school, was getting my books and suddenly I was being spun around. And I faced Troy." She smiled, "Those eyes were just captivating. And I was sunk." Her face stilled, "He didn't say anything, but I knew I was in the game." She sighed. "I played for almost a month. And I actually thought I could win, but one day I realized I couldn't." She sighed, "I'd seen him making out with a cheerleader and next thing I knew I was in the theater bawling." A small smile spread on her face, "Zeke found me. And he just held me while I cried. I didn't even know his name. And he just kept showing up. Every time Troy knocked me down, which was often. After a while I started seeking him out. At first to find out what Troy was thinking and then just to talk because I enjoyed his company." She sighed, "Then a month later he brought me cookies, I ate one and asked him out on a date. I was the first girl to every take myself out of the game by finding someone better for me. And Zeke, he is better."

She closed her eyes and leaned back. Gabriella continued to watch her. There was much more to Sharpay than met the eyes. Now Gabriella wanted to know if Taylor or Kelsi had ever been a part of the game, "What about Taylor and Kelsi?" she asked.

Sharpay smiled, "When I started dating Zeke and was brought into the group, Ryan was automatically initiated. He'd just asked Kelsi on a date. She's always been his. Now Taylor challenged Troy one day in the cafeteria. He started it, he always does. He'd made some comment about nerds never having boyfriends because they were too intimidating." Gabriella snorted, Troy was the epitome of intimidating. "Well Taylor called out his games in the middle of the cafeteria. This was a year ago this past September. And she almost found herself in a game. She's not his type, she lacks the," Sharpay puased, "overt sexuality he likes and the confidence in that sexuality. But he was bored and she looked like a challenge."

"How did she stay out of it?"

"Chad stepped in. I think he'd always liked her, but figured she was too smart for him, which is true. But to his immense credit, he told Troy no fucking way. And that pissed Troy off. And pissed off Troy is the scariest thing I've ever seen." Gabriella shivered as Sharpay's eyes darkened. Sharpay continued, "And he stood his ground. It came out pretty quickly he liked Taylor. He started hanging out with her, I think to protect her from Troy. Got her to tutor him. Distanced himself from Troy. It was the most time they'd ever spent apart. Chad was so mad at Troy. Zeke, Jason, Ryan, Kelsi and I dealt with it. He wasn't this mad at Zeke when I started dating him. Probably because I asked him out. I don't know if Troy knows how much time I spent with Zeke. If he followed me like he did you then he knew. But you actually mean something to him and none of the rest of us did. Anyhow, I think he was pissed at Chad because Chad was supposed to be on his side."

"So he won't take it out on Zeke for being friends with me? Or you?" Gabriella asked.

Sharpay scoffed, "He's not stupid enough to take his anger out on me like he did with Chad when he stepped in to protect Taylor. I am the only person who never wavers under Troy. He's scary, but he's not _that_ scary. He thinks he's more intimidating than he is, and it's that confidence that scares so many people. So it's really not Troy's actions."

Gabriella bit her lip and Sharpay looked at her expectantly, knowing what she wanted to ask, "What did Troy do to those three guys?"

Sharpay shrugged, giving a very rehearsed reaction to the question she'd been waiting for all afternoon. Gabriella wasn't buying it, but she didn't want to push Sharpay. So instead she raised her eyebrows, disbelieving, but unquestioning at the same time. Sharpay sighed, shaking her ponytail loose and running her hands through her long hair, "I wouldn't expect to see those guys around any time soon El. Troy probably broke something. In their bodies." She whispered the last part with wide eyes, trying to lighten the moods slightly. Gabriella shook her head at Sharpay's melodramatic nature, but shivered nonetheless. It was a frightening thought.

"Pay?" Sharpay looked over at Gabriella, "What would you do, if you were me?"

Sharpay sighed, "I don't know El, it all comes down to how you feel about Troy." She took a deep breath, "If you want to let him go, you can, and I think he'll listen; however, if you have any feelings for him you could give it a try. He's not a bad guy El."

Gabriella sighed and ran her hand through her hair, dislodging it from the bun she'd placed haphazardly on her head. "I know he's not Pay."

"But you don't want connections." Sharpay read her mind, "You don't want to start something you can't finish."

"I don't want to be attached to someone and feel like I should change my plans for my future. And I know I'll want to do that with Troy. I can just feel it."

"Well I think that answers the question about what you should do. If you feel like you'll want to change your plans because of Troy, not just because of a random guy, but because of Troy, then you owe it to yourself to try it with him. To see if he's what you feel he is. Otherwise you'll be left wondering." Sharpay took her hand, "Just jump in with both feet. For the first time I think I can say this to a girl confidently, you won't regret it. He'll be different with you than with anyone else."

Gabriella smiled and pulled Sharpay into a hug, "I'm sorry I was a bitch to you Pay, you're a really good person. And a good friend."

Sharpay pulled back and flipped her hair over her shoulder, "Oh I know I am."

HSMHSMHSM

Monday morning Gabriella was having second thoughts about her plans to tell Troy she was in. All in. She stood at his locker, knowing that he stopped there before going to lean against the freshmen lockers and wait for Chad to throw a basketball at his head. Her heart rate increased as she saw Troy approaching. She smoothed out her black turtleneck dress and adjusted her bag on her shoulder. _Just breathe Gabriella. Just breathe. _

"Troy." She said when he was close enough to hear her.

"Morning little lady." He responded, turning to his locker.

She rolled her eyes, _why am I doing this again? _"Troy." She repeated.

He turned when she said his name for a second time, instead of calling him 'kid.' "Is everything okay Gabriella? Did those guys bother you this weekend?" The amusement that usually remained stationed on his face faded to one of concern.

She shook her head, her curls flying out of the low, loose ponytail they were confined to. "No they didn't, but I wanted to talk to you. Like seriously talk to you, not how we usually talk to each other." She clarified.

Troy looked at her questioningly, "Alright." He nodded. "Talk."

She took a deep breath, _why did he have to make this so damn difficult. _"So I'm sorry, for blowing you off and thank you for taking care of," she hesitated, not sure if she could say their names, "them."

Troy nodded, "Well I don't tolerate bullying here." He shut his locker with a bang. "That it?"

She flinched, she didn't know how to open up the subject. She nodded mutely. "Nevermind Troy, that's it." Turning, she walked away, flying past the freshmen lockers to go sit in the rooftop garden, needing air.

"El?" Sharpay called as Gabriella ran past the group who was already waiting for Troy.

Troy approached the group a few seconds after Gabriella had already passed them, "Troy Alexander Bolton!" Sharpay screeched as she turned to face him, "What did you do to her?"

"Whoa, Shar, chill." Troy raised his hands and caught the ball Chad tossed to him.

"Don't tell me to chill Bolton, why isn't Gabriella with you, why is she running off looking like she's about to cry?" Sharpay got right in his face and took Lucille from him, throwing her off to the side, ignoring Chad's screech of pain at how she treated Lucille.

"What are you talking about, she thanked me for taking care of Greene, Goff and Diston and left." He shrugged.

Sharpay frowned, "She didn't tell you how she felt?"

Troy shook his head, "How she felt? About what?"

Sharpay let out a shriek, "You! You're such an idiot! I bet you stood there, barely responding and she didn't know how to open it up because you're such an ass! Do you have any idea how hard it was for her to open up to me and how much she wanted to tell you, but didn't know how to and then you go act like a fucking asshole! Troy Alexander Bolton if I wouldn't go to jail I'd kill you."

When Sharpay finished screaming, Troy shrugged and responded, "She had her chance. I'm not interested anymore." He leaned against the lockers.

"Yeah fucking right Troy!" Sharpay was back in his face, _She really needs to learn to breathe in between monologues_. "You are so not finished with her. You're in love with her. And she's in love with you. And you both know it, but you're both so UGH! And these games you play are bullshit. Ugh!" She stomped on his foot with her heel, ignoring his wince and the looks of students staring and turned, "EVERYONE BETTER CLEAR OUT!" She screamed at the hallway, which emptied in a matter of seconds, before storming off in search of Gabriella.

She found Gabriella watering the plants in the rooftop garden, wiping away the tears that had formed. "El?"

Gabriella turned, startled, "I'm fine Sharpay, if he's moved on then so have I, besides it's not like we every spoke other than to annoy each other. It doesn't matter. I was stupid to get attached to the idea of him." She shrugged and filled up the watering can again.

"No he's stupid. He's just being an ass. He'll come around. Once he can walk again." She cocked her head to the side and smiled.

"What'd you do, break his foot?" Gabriella asked with a laugh. When Sharpay didn't respond, she turned to look at the blonde, "You didn't did you Sharpay? How will he play basketball if you did that? Coach Bolton will kill you!"

"I just stepped on it lightly." Sharpay shrugged. "He was being mean and I reacted." She smiled her dazzling smile that held enough of a threat to shut most people up.

"Sharpay!" Gabriella glowered, "That was not necessary. If he can't play ball everyone in this school will be furious with you!"

Sharpay shook her head, "No one will cross me." She was so sure of herself that all Gabriella could even think to do was roll her eyes and continue watering the plants to distract herself. "Gabriella." Sharpay said after a moment, "Stop watering the plants." She pried the can out of her hands. "Troy will come around, you'll see."

Gabriella shook her head, "No I don't think you understand, I don't care anymore. I don't want someone who doesn't want me. Who would want that? I'm not going to fight him anymore. I'm not going to try chasing him. I don't want to chase him." Picking up her bag she said, "See you in Homeroom Pay."

HSMHSMHSM

Read & Review!

XOXO

MAS


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I clearly do not own the High School musical franchise_

_**I know I've taken on a lot, but I promise to do my best not to ignore any of my stories. **_

_**XOXO**_

_**MAS**_

**Chapter Six: Mandy Murphy**

Sharpay tapped her pink and white manicured fingers on her lab desk. She was sitting in Chemistry, not paying attention, which was nothing new. After all, when would she ever need science in her life? She was destined to be an actress. Instead she was focused on scheming. It was her favorite past time and she knew it was a handy skill to have in the acting world.

_Okay, focus Sharpay. You have to figure out how to get Troy and Gabriella together. Gabriella is so not okay with playing Troy's games and is so not okay with not being in Troy's life. And Troy is so not okay without having Gabriella in his life. They need each other. They actually need each other. Now what to do? _The tapping of her nails increased its pace as she continued to think.

"Shar, I can't concentrate with you doing that." Jason whined next to her.

She faced him with a withering glare. He shut up. He was interrupting her thinking and scheming. _How does one force two people to admit they love each other? Especially two people who are as stubborn and cold as Gabriella and Troy? Isn't there a t.v. show or movie that depicts this? No I have to be original. I am an artist. I will be creative. It will happen. _She sighed and stilled her fingers. If she wasn't careful she'd chip the manicure. She inspected her nails carefully. They were still intact. She resumed tapping.

Jason groaned and put his head on his desk. Why he ever chose Sharpay as a lab partner was beyond him. Oh yeah, he knew why, _Because she fucking demanded it since she didn't want to work with one of the – what were they called? Plesbians? Plebeians? Plesans? Oh who knows. _He closed his eyes, feeling the table vibrate from Sharpay's continuously clicking nails. _If I could, I'd chop her hands off. _

Sharpay looked over at Jason with disdain, _What I need is a smart friend. Someone as conniving and manipulative as me. I need a partner in crime. And what I have are people like Jason and Chad. And they're the only fun ones. Ryan would tell me to butt out. Zeke would say let them figure it out. Taylor is just all sorts of no fun. And Kelsi is way too timid. I need a fun friend!_ Her head dropped down to the table next to Jason's.

"Ms. Evans and Mr. Cross, are we boring you two?" Both Sharpay and Jason sat up at the sound of Mrs. Zeiner's voice.

"No Mrs. Zeiner." The both answered in unison.

Jason glared at Sharpay, "If you'd stop tapping I could pay attention."

"If you were smarter you could help me and I wouldn't need to tap." Sharpay spat back under her breath.

Jason's eyes widened, "You're scheming. You're not supposed to scheme." He accused her.

She rolled her eyes, "As if Zeke, Troy and Ryan could ever boss me around."

He looked at her, just for a moment, before saying, "I want in."

HSMHSMHSM

Gabriella walked into the cafeteria trailing behind Mandy Murphy. She'd met Mandy through her dance studio. She was a nice girl, who was also on the cheerleading squad at East High. Gabriella still didn't really want friends, but Mandy seemed nice enough. And the cheerleaders didn't seem to have any strings attached like Troy and his gang did.

"Come on Gabi, you'll really like everyone. I promise we're nicer than most cheerleaders." Mandy looped her arm through Gabriella's and smiled reassuringly.

Gabriella nodded, hoping that was true. The last thing she needed was to be involved in some clique war. Following her to a table set in the back corner, which Gabriella thought was odd, she took a seat next to Mandy.

"Hey girls!" Mandy chirped, "This is Gabriella Montez. She's new this semester and she's a senior."

The table chorused a hello before one brunette looked at her and said, "I'm Daniella, it's nice to meet you Gabriella."

Gabriella smiled politely and responded, "Nice to meet you too Daniella."

"So tell me, is it true you forced Troy out of his games? Cause only Sharpay Evans and Chad Danforth have every managed to get Troy to quit. And Sharpay is scarier than Troy and Chad is his best friend and was in love with the girl Troy wanted to play with so Troy was really backed in a corner there."

Daniella spoke so quickly, Gabriella had a hard time keeping up. After a moment of silence, when Daniella finally took a breath, she responded, "Um, yeah I guess so. I just really didn't want to be dragged around like that."

"So how'd you do it?" Daniella asked.

"Danni!" Mandy scolded the cheerleader.

"What? I want to know how to play the game! I want to fuck Troy so damn badly. Just once. I definitely don't want to date him. He's too moody. I heard he's so great in the sack though." She gave Gabriella a wink.

Gabriella looked at the girl in wonderment. _That's why Troy gets away with his games. The girls here want to play. They actually want to get toyed with. And I bet most of them do just want a quick lay with Troy and then he gets pleasure out of the fact he can make them fall in love with him even if that's not their intention and then break them. Why did I ever want to be with him? What was I thinking? Too much time with Sharpay the Romantic. _Finally Gabriella responded, "I honestly don't know what I did." She shrugged, "I was just looking at the school map my first day so I could find the Front Office and he came up to me. Then he started harassing me like he does for his little game."

Mandy shook her head, "Sorry Gabi, I guess you're kind of a fascination around here." Gabriella grimaced. She really didn't like that. "I mean you're beautiful, every guy wants to date you. You hook Troy just by walking into the school and then you get him to back off without being all Sharpay like. Sharpay is fucking crazy and scary."

Gabriella eyed Mandy carefully. Sharpay was her friend. She didn't like that people talked about her like that. "Sharpay is actually really, really nice. She's very selfless. She's a little crazy, yes, but very nice." She dropped her gaze to her lunch.

Daniella scoffed, "She so doesn't come off like that to the school. One word from the Ice Queen and your reputation is fucking ruined good. I heard that she threatened Goff, Greene and Diston and that's why they've taken the week off from school."

Gabriella's head shot up. It was the first she'd heard about the guys who'd attacked her. She had no idea what Troy had actually done or said, but she had not heard a peep out of them. She hadn't even seen them all day. "Who?" She finally asked deciding if she played dumb maybe no one would connect any incident or threat to her.

"Carlisle Goff, Tyler Greene, and Nat Diston. Rumor is they did something Sharpay didn't like and she threatened to ruin their reputations if they didn't do as she say. They're pretty much ruined just because of that now. The Ice Queen has _so_ much power. Way more than Troy." Now Gabriella found that really hard to believe.

"Really? Troy seems to run the school." Gabriella really didn't want to spend the entire lunch period discussing Troy, but she was curious now. She was curious what others thought of him.

"I mean he does, but if Sharpay decrees it, it overrules anything Troy does. He can't outdo her. She has too much weight in the community too. Albuquerque is a small town really. If she or any of the Evans don't like you, you're toast. Ryan's cool though, he doesn't throw his weight around at all. He pretty much just has his tongue down Kelsi's throat if he's not singing or dancing." Daniella giggled.

"They really love each other. It's so cute." Mandy cooed, looking across the lunch room at them. Gabriella followed her gaze. "All of them are so cute together." She sighed. It was true. Ryan was feeding Kelsi a piece of cake that was in the center of the table. One of Zeke's creations no doubt. Sharpay had her head resting on Zeke's shoulder with her eyes closed as he played with the tips of her hair. Chad was hunched over a textbook, while Taylor protectively held onto Lucille, just to keep him happy, as she patiently helped him with homework. "Jason deserves someone too." Mandy's statement drew Gabriella back to the cheerleader's table.

"So why don't you ask him out?" Gabriella asked. "He seems really nice."

Mandy shook her head, her cheeks turning red, "He'd never say yes to me. I don't think any of them really like cheerleaders." She ducked her head.

Gabriella had to disagree, "I don't think they care what you like. I mean come on, Sharpay is a drama queen and Taylor is a nerd. And Zeke and Chad adore them. I bet you if you're nice to him and patient with him and are nice to his friends, he'd like you." Gabriella didn't know why she was being so nice to Mandy. Or why she was directing Mandy in that crazy group's direction, but for whatever reason, she wanted to see Mandy happy. She was a nice girl. "Here" Gabriella pulled out on of her mom's brownies. "Go tell Jason that we had extra brownies and you thought he might want one. Tell them they're better than anything Zeke bakes." She winked at Mandy, "That'll catch his attention."

Mandy shook her head, but stood as Gabriella shoved the brownie in her hands she muttered, "Fine."

Gabriella watched with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. _Everyone deserves to be happy. _

Mandy approached the table cautiously. Most people didn't go up to them without being invited. She cleared her throat when no on acknowledged her. "Um excuse me, Jason?" Now that had everyone's attention. No one ever really bothered Jason, he flew under the radar generally. Unless he was saying something stupid or starting Darbus on one of her lectures about the past or cell phones.

"Uh yeah." He looked at her confused.

"I'm, um, I'm Mandy." She stuck her hand out to shake his.

He looked at it and blushed, before shaking with her, "I know, you're the captain of the cheerleading squad."

She turned a bright red Gabriella could see from across the cafeteria. She looked pleased, "So um, we had extra brownies at our table and I thought you might like one." Zeke went to protest that they had cake, but she interrupted, "I'm sure they're even better than Zeke's." Without waiting for his response, she dropped the brownie in front of him and ran back to the cheerleaders' table.

When she sat down she glared at Gabriella, still blushing furiously, "That was the single most embarrassing moment of my life. And I had a ton of those moments in middle school. Thank you so much Gabriella."

Gabriella just shrugged. She had a feeling Jason was the nicest one of that entire group. And probably did whatever the fuck he wanted whether or not Troy and Sharpay liked it. And they probably really didn't notice anyways. He was underestimated, and Gabriella had a feeling he liked it that way. "I bet you'll hear from him by the end of the day." Gabriella gave her a reassuring smile and a pat on the hand. _Maybe having friends wasn't too bad. Maybe it was smarter than being alone. _

HSMHSMHSM

Gabriella was putting her books in her bag at the end of the day when Mandy rounded the corner shouting her name. "Oh my God he left me a note in my locker asking me out for Friday night. He said he didn't have my number, but he wants to meet tomorrow during free period so he can get it." She was jumping up and down and stopped just long enough to pull Gabriella in a tight hug before resuming her jumping, "Thank you soooooooo much Gabi! You're the best!" She squealed before turning and running in the direction of the gym for practice. Gabriella smiled, happy that Mandy was happy before shutting her locker with a bang and heading to her car.

HSMHSMHSM

Sharpay stood tapping her foot outside of the Boys' Locker Room. When Jason came out, she snagged him by the back of his shirt, "We need to talk."

Jason sighed, "What did I do now Shar? I swear. It was probably Chad's fault anyways." Not that anyone would believe him. Whatever it was.

Sharpay shook her head, her blonde curls flying everywhere, "It's not what you did. It's who you're going to do and how she's going to help us." Sharpay gave Jason a grin that had him cringing.

"We're not bringing Mandy into one of your illegal schemes. She seems nice." He stopped her before she could start.

She rolled her eyes, "Like you could stop me anyhow. Besides, don't you think that she'd want to help Gabriella since she seems to be her friend?"

Jason thought about this for a moment before shaking his head, "I don't know Shar, I just want to go on a date with her. Can I please have that? Please?" He asked.

Sharpay rolled her eyes, it was so unbecoming when boys whined, "No. She's helping. You said you wanted in. This is in. And in includes Mandy Murphy."

She walked away without giving Jason a chance to protest. Instead, all he could do was rub his temples and head into the gym for practice.

HSMHSMHSM

Read & Review

XOXO

MAS


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: Clearly I do not own the High School Musical franchise_

_**I was asked this question a few days ago, quite rudely actually, so I'm going to address it now: How many chapters will be in your stories? The short answer is I don't know. The long answer is I have a vague idea of what I want to happen in each of my stories; however, I have no idea how long it will take to get there. For now I am focusing on consistently updating the five stories I have going. Everything else will just come. I did not realize it mattered how many chapters a story had, just as long as it was completed. Now, onto more fun and important things, like Chapter Two! **_

_**XOXO  
MAS**_

**Chapter Seven: The First One **

Jason Cross was not as stupid as people thought he was. And he knew it. He knew people assumed he was an idiot. He was the one that started Mrs. Darbus on a lot of her rants. He was the one constantly asking what was going on. He was the one people never asked to help. He was the one people always assumed wasn't paying attention.

But he was. He always was.

He was smart enough to know when Zeke was sneaking off to find Sharpay when she was twisted up in one of Troy's games. He was smart enough to know Chad liked Taylor since they were in seventh grade. And he was smart enough to know that if they backed off, Troy would seek Gabriella out and not play any games with her. And she would let him. And they would be happy.

But no one knew that. Everyone assumed he was clueless.

And he liked it that way. It made life easier. No one asked him questions. No one dragged him into their problems. No one bothered to see what he was doing. Troy and Sharpay never kept tabs out of him, he was always able to do exactly what he wanted to do when he wanted to do it. And no one ever made him scheme with them.

Until now. All because he'd opened his big mouth thinking it would stop Sharpay's incessant nail tapping so he could try to focus on chemistry.

Sighing, he sat down on a bench out in the sun. Putting his head in his hands he thought, _Maybe I am as dumb as everyone thinks. After all, I managed to get Mandy involved in one of Sharpay's schemes without even officially asking her out. _

"Jason?"

He looked up across the rooftop garden, where he'd asked Mandy to meet him during Free Period. He called out, "Over here Mandy."

He watched as she tried to contain her enthusiasm and simply walk over to him rather than skip. "Hey, you okay?"

Her smile dropped as she got close enough to see the worried look on his face, "Yeah," he moved over patted the spot next to him, "just thinking about one of Sharpay's new schemes." _Might as well be honest. _

Mandy laughed, "She is famous for those. What's this one about? Or am I not allowed to know."

He hesitated, looking at her uncertainly. She didn't seem scared, at least not yet. She probably never considered that Sharpay would be crazy enough to bring her into one of the horrible schemes she contrived that ruined people. Ruined them worse than when Troy would break a few bones. "Well," he scratched his head, his own nervous habit, and looked away, "she wants to involve you."

Mandy's eyes narrowed, "And what did I do to deserve being schemed against?"

Jason's eyes shot up, "No not schemed against. You're supposed to help."

Mandy softened her gaze. "Oh, well that's different. Okay, so what is the scheme?"

Jason just stared at her in awe. Why did she sound so okay with being a part of scheme? They were no fun and confusing and absolutely destroyed people. "I don't really know."

"Jason Cross are you telling me it never once occurred to you to ask Sharpay what the scheme involved when you told her I'd do it." Mandy stood up and put her hands on her hips. The last thing she needed was to be one of Sharpay's targets if she didn't do exactly as the insane blonde told her to do.

"She didn't really offer much info Mandy. And you don't ask Sharpay questions. You just say 'yes ma'am' and do what she says." He scratched his head again.

Mandy continued to stare at him, "Do you even know what it's about? Or should I say, who it's about?"

That Jason did know the answer to, and he wasn't sure if Mandy was going to like it, "Gabriella and Troy." He dropped his gaze, "Since you seem to be Gabriella's friend and all Sharpay thought it might help."

Mandy's mouth dropped open, Sharpay was definitely a fucking lunatic, "She seriously wants me to fuck with Troy Bolton? No, scratch that, with Gabriella Montez who I think may be scarier than Troy Bolton. Is she fucking out of her mind?"

Jason laughed, that had been the reaction he expected from the get go, Sharpay was nuts. End of story. "Um, well yeah, she's crazy. No new news there."

Mandy stared out over the roof for a minute, "You know I've never been here before. I didn't even know this existed."

Jason looked up at her, "Yeah it's Gabriella and Zeke's place, but Zeke's playing ball during free today and Shar dragged Gabriella to the theater to hear a horrible song."

"Okay," Mandy sat back down next Jason, "so let's say we do this. Let's say I get involved. What kind of insane things am I going to have to do?"

"The last plan involved a chicken and an elevator." He didn't even hesitate in his response. All Mandy could do was stare.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She asked. "I am not touching a chicken. I hate birds. They're the devil's creation." She crossed her arms and Jason couldn't help but notice how sexy she was when she pouted.

"Look Mandy, I don't want to force you into this plan. It may be easier if we just don't see each other until after Sharpay's plan is done and Troy and Gabriella are whatever she thinks Troy and Gabriella need to be."

Mandy shook her head, "No fucking way Cross. If we don't get involved like we're supposed to you and I both know we'll be on the receiving end of one of those schemes. We're going to help Sharpay and we're going to have our date on Friday."

Jason's mouth opened and closed for a moment before he could find the right words to respond with, "So what if I picked you up at 7:30? I know there's a party at Jen Crawford's but I was thinking maybe we could do something else instead?"

Mandy nodded, "Yeah I'd like that. 7:30 is perfect." Pulling a piece of paper and a pen out of her purse, she wrote down her phone number and address. "Now you have everything you need."

The ringing of the bell stopped any further conversation, "I'll tell Shar we're in." Jason stood up. "I have chemistry with her now, that's where she does most of her evil plotting."

Mandy followed him down the steps, smiling when he held the door open for her, "Thanks Jason. See you Friday." She waved as they split in different directions.

HSMHSMHSM

Jason walked into chemistry just as the final bell rang. He wasn't quite sure what to expect from Sharpay. She hadn't even graced him with a glance at lunch. She was pissed off that he didn't just fall in line, that he had his own opinion. And that was something he didn't like. He didn't like her knowing he had opinions or ideas. Let alone good ideas. He preferred to keep her and Troy in the dark about things like that. If they thought he was stupid, then they would leave him alone. Now he was about to be dragged into the middle of one of her schemes. He sat down with a loud thud. She still didn't even look at him.

When Mrs. Zeiner started talking, Jason looked over at Sharpay. "She's in."

Sharpay's head swiveled towards him and her eyes lit up, "Perfect. I knew you'd see the light." She whispered.

Turning back to face the blackboard, she pulled out a pink legal pad and a pink pen and began scribbling notes on it. Jason looked down at the paper and saw two distinct columns, one labeled 'Troy' and the other 'Gabriella' and Lord only knew what was going under those.

HSMHSMHSM

When Jason walked into the gym the next period, he was shocked to see Sharpay sitting on the bleachers, he left leg propped up and ice on her ankle. She still had that pink legal pad in her hand. _She faked a damn injury so she could continue to scheme. _

He shook his head and walked over to his friends, who were standing in a group around Zeke, who was looking worriedly at Sharpay, "She won't even let me check it."

"Zeke, I'm sure she's fine." Kelsi gave him a reassuring hug, "She probably twisted it walking in those heels."

"No she's so good in those heels." He protested.

Jason rolled his eyes, "Dude, she probably just doesn't want to play basketball again today." Everyone looked at him, "It is the day of the big game and she won't want to break a nail." It was a lie, but it was a damn believable lie. And now everyone was staring at him like it was unthinkable that he had a good idea.

Chad chuckled, "Well it was bound to happen sometime."

"What?" He asked.

"You having a semi-brilliant thought." Chad tossed Lucille at him.

Jason caught it and threw her back without hesitating. "You're an ass."

Chad just shrugged, "So you have a date with Murphy. At least that's what the rumor on the street it. And by street I mean the hallways of East High."

"And you called Jason dumb?" Ryan stared at Chad, wondering why he'd bothered to explain what 'street' meant.

"Whatever dude." Chad dribbled Lucille a couple of times, "Let's just get this game started!" He pumped his fist in the air. "We're so going to kick your ass again Bolton." He pointed at Troy.

"Or don't you mean Gabriella is going to kick his ass." Taylor pointed out.

Chad shook his head, "She couldn't have done that without me." Chad hit his fist to chest.

"Why is that?" Taylor asked. "Because she's a girl?"

Troy spoke up, "She's good. But she's not that good."

"Troy it was basically a one-on-one game between the two of you and she won." Kelsi pointed out softly.

"Chad and Jason already wore us down. And she took me off guard." He excused himself.

Gabriella rolled her eyes listening to the conversation from her spot next to Mandy, Daniella and Lizzie, another cheerleader. Coach Bolton blew his whistle, stopping the Wildcat's conversation.

"Okay everyone, four laps now." He watched as everyone started jogging and as Gabriella easily took the lead. _Too bad I can't convince her to run track for me. _

When everyone was catching their breaths after the run Coach Bolton blew his whistle one more time, "We're switching it up today, Montez, Evans, you're our captains." Chad groaned. "Let's flip to see who gets first draw." Gabriella won.

And she shocked everyone, "Mandy." She pointed to the cheerleader.

Ryan stood still for a moment, wondering what to do, wondering what Gabriella was playing at. Finally he gave up and called "Troy."

"Kelsi." Gabriella pointed to Ryan's own girlfriend, who just pointed to herself in awe. Even Troy and Chad picked her towards the end.

"Chad?" Ryan asked rather than stated.

"Taylor." Gabriella shot back.

"Jason." Ryan's voice shook a little bit.

"Daniella."

"Zeke."

"Lizzie." Gabriella called out another cheerleader's name. It continued until Gabriella was surrounded by the girls and Ryan was surrounded by the boys. "Let's see if these girls can take you boys." She cooed softly at Chad and Troy, but they could hear the underlying threat in her voice.

Coach Bolton blew his whistle, stopping anything before it started. "Who's jumping?" He asked.

Zeke went and stood in the middle of the court and Christine, a 6'2" volleyball player stood across from him, "Good luck Baylor." She smiled.

She caught the jump ball.

HSMHSMHSM

Troy stood outside the girls' locker room, leaning against the wall. She was one of the first girls out. "Gabriella."

She spun at her name. She didn't respond, just stood there waiting.

"Good game." He held his hand out.

"Night kid." She didn't even bother shaking it.

Troy watched her walk away. She was the first girl he'd ever encountered who simply ignored him if she wanted to. The first one to barely glance his way. The first one to speak her mind and actually follow through. The first one to drop him before he could drop her, without the help of Zeke or Chad. She was the first one to actually fascinate him.

She was the first one he ever wanted.

HSMHSMHSM

Read & Review

XOXO

MAS


	8. Chapter 8

Quick Author's Note:

There have been a few questions regarding what happened to Gabriella in the locker room: the only people who know what happened is Gabriella, who hasn't shared it with anyone, and myself, and I am choosing to not share it with the readers until Gabriella shares it with someone in the story. So that's what's up with the locker room scene with Diston, Goff, Greene and Gabriella. As soon as the characters know something y'all will know something. I would've waited until the next chapter to post this, but the questions have been coming in through reviews and PMs so I figured I'd answer it now instead of making y'all wait until the next chapter, which will probably come at some point next week, if not the week after.

If there are any other questions or concerns feel free to PM me.

XOXO  
MAS


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: Clearly I do not own the High School Musical franchise_

_**Sorry for the lack of updates. I just moved! **_

_**XOXO**_

_**MAS**_

**Chapter Eight: Fall 1988**

Troy dribbled the ball around his father took the open shot. And he missed. Again.

"Troy? What's up?" His dad turned to face him. "That's the sixth shot in a row you've missed."

Troy ran and retrieved the ball that was now lying in the grass. He jogged back over and sat down on the court in front of his father. He laid back and put his hands over his eyes to block out the sun.

"Troy?" His dad sat down next to him, "Troy?" Coach Bolton asked again. Troy still didn't respond, "So this has to do with a certain brunette who beat you in basketball twice, is an incredible dancer and is friends with Sharpay and Zeke, but doesn't want anything to do with you."

Troy moved one hand and opened one eye. His father was damn good. "No." He muttered the response. His father knew it was a lie.

"Gabriella Montez." Jack chuckled, "She doesn't want to play does she?" Jack Bolton was well aware of his son's games. He didn't exactly approve of the games, but then again he really couldn't argue with his son. After all, when he'd been in Troy's position at East High he played the same games. And Tracey, his wonderful wife and Troy's mother, was the one woman who had the guts to challenge him. And he'd married her. So he couldn't exactly question Troy's games. As Jack quietly waited for Troy contemplate answering his question, his mind wandered to when he was in high school with the Evans, the Danforths, the Crosses, and the Baylors. It wandered to how he had tried to play the game with Claire Baylor and Rushton Evans. And how Tim Baylor and Henry Evans did not exactly approve of him messing with those girls.

"You know Troy," Jack decided he didn't want to wait any longer for Troy's response, "do you know how I snagged your mother?"

This caught Troy's attention, "Mom? Didn't she ask you out?"

Jack nodded and laughed, "I'm going to tell you a little story, and you're going to listen. And maybe it will give you some ideas on how to deal with Gabriella before Sharpay starts to scheme." He held up his hand, "She's Rushton's daughter. Where do you think she learned how to be so damn manipulative and schemey?"

_Flashback – Monday August 21, 1988_

_Jack Bolton leaned up against the freshmen lockers on the first day of school. The locker had actually been his when he was freshman, which was how it ended up being the spot everyone met at every morning like clockwork. He glanced at the clock on the wall, one more minute. Those sixty seconds passed quickly and Jack spun around to catch the basketball that came flying at his head. Corey Danforth was lucky no one ever got hit in the head with that damn ball. Then again, four years later and the entire school was used to it. _

"_Dude, I swear, you never ever miss. I don't get it, like whoa dude, come on!" Corey held out his hand as Jack dribbled the prized basketball. "Okay dude, give me the ball back." Corey instructed._

_Jack chuckled and shoved it in his arms, "Seriously bro, why don't you just give it a name and a crib in your room. You're so attached to the damn thing." _

"_Don't I know it." Betty Hickman, Corey's girlfriend, came up behind them with Claire Miller attached to her arm. _

"_Betty!" Corey spun quickly and gave her a kiss, "Yo Claire, where's Tim at? Free period game right after homeroom!"_

"_Okay, Corey, I am not a 'yo'" she tapped her foot, "that's really rather insulting. I am not one of the guys. I am a girl." She made sure to enunciate each word carefully. Corey was always a bit slow. _

_Troy rolled his eyes at Corey and Claire. He gave Betty a look they shared almost every morning. One that asked why on earth she was dating Corey. He sighed and settled back into his routine the first day of school staring at the door. He put every new student in a category. Trying to figure out which ones would be a problem, which ones would go unnoticed, which ones may become popular, which ones were destined to be nerds, which ones, he stopped naming categories in his head. A new girl was here. A new junior or senior it looked like. _

_He watched as she opened the door uncertainly, she looked around, wondering what to do exactly. Or where to go. _

"_Hey that must be the new girl!" Eileen Evans walked up, dragging her boyfriend Bill Cross with her. She pointed straight ahead, uncaring that she drew the attention of every student passing by, including the new girl, who stared at the group with wide eyes._

"_Nice going Leen, now she's freaking out at us." Henry Evans, her twin brother, sauntered up, adjusting his white baseball cap. _

"_Honestly Henry, be nice to your sister for once. Hi new girl!" His girlfriend Rushton Callaghan frowned at him disapprovingly. She waved to the new girl._

_Jack rolled his eyes, "Where the fuck did I find you people?" He looked at the group of eight people around him. He pushed himself off the lockers and walked over to the girl who was trying to ignore them while staring at the newly posted map on the wall. The school had just put it up. And it was nearly unreadable with all its lines and colors. "Ignore them. I do." He leaned against the wall next to her. _

_The new girl looked over at him and gave him a timid smile. "Um, alright. Um, do you think you could point me in the direction of the front office?"_

_She was quiet and seemed sweet. Not anything like his usual fucks. She could be fun to screw with. "Of course, right this way." He extended his arm to her and watched, amused as she stared at it before looping her arm through his with an embarrassed blush creeping its way up her neck. _

_He walked them down the halls ignoring the looks his friends gave him. Looks that disapproved of his game he was about to start. He ignored the looks of other students, some girls who wanted to be her and others who pitied her for clearly and unknowingly being his next target. _

_Jack pushed the front office door opened, "There you go Miss," he paused, waiting for her name._

"_Ard. Tracey Ard." She unlooped her arm and stuck out her hand._

_He shook it. "Jack Bolton." _

_She smiled, looked down and blushed, "Nice to meet you Jack Bolton." Turning she walked into the office to retrieve her welcome packet. _

_Friday September 27, 1988_

_Tracey sighed when she reached her locker. She glanced around quickly before opening it, throwing her books in, grabbing what she needed, slamming it shut and literally running to homeroom. She'd made a habit of getting to school before Jack Bolton did and then waiting in different places before homeroom, so he couldn't pick up on a consistent pattern. He was like a disease that lingered for months on end. She couldn't shake him._

_At first it was flattering, she thought he actually liked her, then she realized it was a stupid game. And it wasn't one she could magically win. _

_It kind of sucked, she thought as she sat alone in her homeroom. Actually it really sucked, because he was actually really sweet, and caring, and generous. He would be an amazing boyfriend. And she already liked him. It scared her. It'd only been a month, a month of a random kiss, a chance meeting, toying with her emotions just to tell her to buzz off so he could go screw a cheerleader. And she hated it. She hated that she'd fallen for him. For the sweet Jack that she knew was underneath everything else, but didn't like to make a regular appearance. She hated that more than anything. _

_The door to the homeroom opened and her most unlikely ally walked in. "Hey Rushton." She waved to the blonde who twirled her way into the room, "Where's Henry?" She asked._

_Rushton shrugged and smiled, "Out and about. I think he's distracting Jack with something in the theater." She threw her hand over her heart dramatically. "He really is rather melodramatic, don't you think?"_

_Tracey laughed, "And you're not?"_

_Rushton smiled her response. It was the smile that captivated Jack the year before. It was the smile that made Henry defend her. It was a good smile Tracey decided. One she was glad to have for a friend. "So the girls want to do a sleepover tonight sans penises. You in?"_

_Tracey looked at Rushton skeptically. She liked her and she liked Eileen Evans, but she wasn't close to Claire or Betty. They were more into the popular crowd rather than the theater and nerd crowd. Tracey was a nerd, through and through. She'd been welcomed on the scholastic decathlon team by Ken McKessie and his girlfriend Adele Smith who were co-captains._

_As if able to read her mind, Rushton held up her hands to silence any protests, "Look Trace, Betty and Claire love you! And let's invite Adele and Jessica too. It'll be fun!" _

_Tracey smiled, Jessica Parker was also on the scholastic decathlon team. Her boyfriend, Jim Nielson was involved in theater with Henry and Eileen. Finally she nodded, "Alright Rush, sounds good. And thanks for including Adele and Jess." _

_Rushton just smiled and flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder, "Hey they're a lot of fun. And a sans penises night is so needed. I mean Henry and Corey are so unbelievably annoying. Ugh and Bill is just so ugh." _

_Tracey laughed, but the laughter stopped short when Jack Bolton and his friends walked into the room. "There you are Rush, we've been waiting for you for forever." Henry exclaimed, gliding over to his girlfriend. _

_She just shrugged, "We're planning a girls' night. No penises allowed." She wagged her finger at them, but really she was talking to Corey and Bill who would definitely try to come up with a scare the girls routine. _

_To Tracey's surprise, it was Jack that chuckled, "And here I thought you were trying to avoid us Trace." _

_Tracey rolled her eyes, "You have nice friends Jack, you're the only one who's an ass." _

_Jack raised his eyebrows at her tone and harsh words, but chose to just chuckle and take a seat as the bell rang._

_Friday Night September 27, 1988_

"_You so like him Tracey. It's so obvious." Betty Hickman cooed at her as she took a sip of the wine Eileen snagged from her parents' cabinet. _

_Tracey turned bright red and looked into her own wine glass, "It doesn't matter. He doesn't really like me anyways." _

_Jessica looked at the group of girls around her, a group she never would've hung out with, other than Adele, even last month, "So has any girl Jack's ever played this game with just turned around and asked him out?"_

_Everyone looked at her. Betty, Claire, Rushton and Eileen were clearly thinking hard. Finally Rushton responded, "No. No girl has ever asked him out. That would be out of line for the game." _

"_Well then why don't you ask him out Tracey?" Jessica looked at her with raised eyebrows. "That could throw Jack off?" She down the rest of her wine and poured another helping. _

_Tracey thought about this for a moment. She really wasn't the type of girl to chase a guy who didn't want her. And she definitely wasn't the type of girl who shied away from a fight like she was doing now. But if there was the slightest chance Jack wanted her, she knew she could make him happy. "Alright." She nodded, "Does everyone think this is a good idea?"_

_Claire nodded her head vigorously, "It'll totally throw him off. You have to do it on Monday. And make it big." _

"_In the middle of the cafeteria during lunch." Eileen decided, "Be bold." _

_Tracey finished the rest of her wine and filled her cup up again, "I can definitely be bold."_

_Monday September 30, 1988_

"_You ready for this?" Adele and Jessica were hanging back with Tracey so the boys didn't suspect anything. Rushton, Betty, Claire and Eileen would make sure all the boys were sitting in the middle of the cafeteria in the normal spot when Tracey made her big announcement. _

_Tracey nodded and smiled, "This will be easy." She was trying to remain as confident as possible. _

_Jessica's phone buzzed, "That's Eileen, it's show time." The three girls nodded and linked arms, pushing open the cafeteria doors. Lunch was in full swing and the cafeteria was humming with energy over the big football game that was Friday night. _

_Tracey took a deep breath and walked up to the table Ken McKessie and Jim Nielson claimed that was right next to the basketball table. She smiled when Jim handed her the mic he'd stolen from the theater and climbed up the table benches and onto the table itself. She turned the microphone on "Excuse me?" The cafeteria fell completely silent. "I'd like everyone's attention for just a few moments." Everyone turned to look at her, teachers included, "Thank you, my name is Tracey Ard, for those of you who don't know me, I am new to East High this year. And I would like to make a special request." She turned to face Jack Bolton, "Jack Bolton," his eyes connected with hers, "I am taking you to dinner on Saturday night." _

_The cafeteria broke into chatter. She didn't exactly make a request, she made a statement. She was taking him to dinner. _

_Jack, stared at her in awe. She was trying to call the shots. It was a play for control. And if he said yes, she would have control over the entire night. He could try to take it back, but something told him she wouldn't relinquish it so easily. If he said no, he would remain in control, but she might just figure out a way to make herself unreachable. He stared at her for a few more moments before finally nodding and saying as loudly as he could, "What time?"_

_Tracey didn't even smile as she said, "I'll pick you up at 7. The dress is semi-formal." She didn't wait for his response. She just turned the mic off, handed it to Jim and took Ken's hand as she stepped down and walked out of the cafeteria. She was playing the game. And she was quite possibly playing it better than he was. He was sunk. And he knew it. _

_End of Flashback_

"Wait Dad," Troy held up his hands, "you actually played a game with Mom? How could you do that to someone you love?"

Jack shook his head, "How could you do it to Gabriella?" He questioned back.

Troy nodded his head, his dad had a point. Essentially, his mom was to his dad as Gabriella was to him. And yet here he was playing this twisted game with her. This game that could hurt her. Especially if she wasn't as brave as his mother was. "So what do I do?" Troy looked up from the ground.

Jack shrugged, "It's really up to you kiddo. You have to ask yourself, if you continue to try to play the game, will you break her? If you don't play the game, can you stay true to yourself? You just want to be honest with her and open with her. And you don't want to hurt her." Jack sighed and ran his hand over his face, "I know it's hard to stop playing. Especially when you've been doing it for so long. I also know it's hard not to play when you're trying to live up to this image. You can do it though Troy, you just have to do it on your own terms. I let your mother take me out of the game. I was sunk after she took me out on that date. Hell, I think she had me the moment she walked into the doors of East High."

Troy grinned, "I think I fell when Gabriella walked through the doors too. I messed up big time Dad." He sighed and looked down, "You heard why Greene, Diston and Goff are out right?"

Jack shrugged, "I heard they got into a fight."

Troy looked up guiltily, "I don't know what they did to her exactly, but they hurt her, and I beat the shit out of them."

Jack sighed, "Troy you can't beat people up every time they talk to someone you don't want them talking to."

Troy shook his head, "I need to find out what they did to her. They touched her." He sighed, just as he father had, "And I don't know how bad it was. She won't even talk to me anymore."

Jack stared at his son, "You need to find out what happened son, she needs to talk to someone. Has she told anyone? She's close to Sharpay right?" He paused, "And that cheerleader Mandy? Or Zeke?"

Troy stood up and kicked the basketball that was laying near them, "She won't tell anyone. And Sharpay is about to start scheming and I just want to shake her into telling me!"

Jack looked at Troy and at the basketball that was now on the other side of the yard, "Son, you just need to make a bold gesture and be honest with her. Let her know you care. Let her know you want to help. Let her know you're not the big bad wolf."

Troy just looked at his father, "Easier said than done Dad."

HSMHSMHSM

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XOXO

MAS


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: Clearly I do not own the High School Musical franchise._

**Chapter Nine: Grand Gestures**

_A grand gesture. _Troy leaned back against his freshman locker. _A grand gesture. _He ran his hand through his shaggy brown hair. _I need a haircut and a grand gesture. _

"Fuck!" The loud curse and the smashing of glass brought Troy out of his thoughts. He turned around to see his best friend gaping open-mouthed. Troy's eyes swiveled up to the clock on the wall. _Fucking Lucille. Shit. _He turned back around and looked at the shattered glass case. Chad was screwed. Everyone knew he threw that damn basketball every morning. Troy had just never missed before. He'd never been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he forgot to pay attention to the time.

Gabriella glanced over from her spot where she stood talking to Mandy about her date with Jason on Friday night. Her eyes moved from the shattered wall display to Chad. The hallway was dead silent.

"Chad Danforth!" Mr. Matusi, the school principal, screamed his name down the hall. Gabriella threw her hand over her mouth to cover up the giggles that were about to explode. Chad was so screwed. And even if it sucked to be him, this sure as hell was funny.

"Oh my God, Chad is so dead." Mandy whispered to Gabriella, "I wonder why Troy missed the ball."

Sharpay sauntered over to them at that moment with Zeke and her freshman trailing behind her. "Oh honey isn't it obvious?" She went to answer Mandy's questions. "He was thinking about winning Brie over."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Whatever Pay. Look I'm going to head to homeroom. Let me know how screwed Chad is." She waved to the girls and walked past Troy without a glance. _What on earth did I ever see in him? I mean yeah he's good looking and good at basketball, but outside of that what is there to him? He's an ass who plays games with people for fun. What kind of person does that? And why would I ever even consider getting involved with that? I may not want friends and I may be guarded, but I certainly don't screw with people's hearts or their emotions. That's just cruel. _

Opening the door to Mrs. Darbus's classroom, Gabriella took her seat near the back. No one was there yet. Everyone was probably crowding around the principal's office trying to hear what punishment Chad was going to receive for breaking the display case.

"Why Miss Montez, I didn't expect to see you here so early." Gabriella looked up from her doodling at Mrs. Darbus's voice.

"Morning Mrs. Darbus. And yeah I didn't want to stay and see Chad get punished for breaking the display case."

Mrs. Darbus's eyebrow rose, "Mr. Danforth did what and how?"

Gabriella giggled, "He broke the display case that had the baseball trophies in it. Every morning he throws that basketball of his at Troy and Troy forgot or something today and the ball went flying past him and into the case." She shrugged, "Danforth's in trouble. Mr. Matusi did not look pleased."

Mrs. Darbus sat on the corner of the desk in front of Gabriella, "Oh I'm sure he'll get off just fine. Mr. Matusi certainly likes them all enough."

"Them?"

"The basketboys or whatever they are." Mrs. Darbus waved her hand, "Mr. Matusi loves them, he won't be in any trouble."

Gabriella cocked her head to the side. _I know the student body worships them and hands the group whatever they want, but the school faculty and administration? _"I know Troy has the student body petrified, but the faculty?"

"Mhm," Mrs. Darbus wrapped her shawl more securely around her shoulders, "Mr. Matusi isn't so much scared as he is in love with basketball here at East High. And Mr. Danforth throws that hockey puck around everywhere he goes." Gabriella held back a grin at Mrs. Darbus's temper tantrum over the special treatment it was clear Troy's group received.

"Well at least you can put them in their place in here. They really do need a good slap in the face." Gabriella muttered the last part.

Mrs. Darbus grinned, "Or do you mean Mr. Bolton needs a good slap in the face?"

Gabriella's head shot up and her eyes met her homeroom teacher's. "He is one of them." Gabriella pointed out feebly.

"It's my understanding that he wanted to start a game with you Miss Montez."

Gabriella stared at the woman, "You know about his games with the female population here?" Mrs. Darbus nodded, "Does the entire faculty?" Again the teacher nodded, "And no one tries to stop him from destroying the girls here? No one steps in and tells him that he's full of shit and needs someone to teach him a lesson?"

Mrs. Darbus leaned back slightly at Gabriella's condescending tone. "The only people who openly defy Mr. Bolton are Mr. Danforth and Miss Evans. Personally, I think most students are more afraid of Miss Evans."

"Pay is harmless." Gabriella waved her off.

"Still, the faculty does nothing. I do send them to detention rather often though." She smiled smugly, as if she were proud of this.

Gabriella's eyebrow rose, "I take it you're the only one who does this." Mrs. Darbus nodded in confirmation.

Both sets of eyes roved over to the door as it opened. The conversation ended abruptly as Mrs. Darbus went to sit in her overstuffed chair on the stage at the front of the classroom. Students began filing in, discussing how amazing it was Chad was able to talk himself out of detention, suspension or expulsion after breaking the baseball trophy case. Mrs. Darbus caught Gabriella's gaze and nodded her head as if to say, 'see, whatever they want they get.'

Just as the bell rang the door opened for again and Troy, Zeke, Jason, Ryan, Sharpay, and Kelsi came in.

"And where is Mr. Danforth?" Mrs. Darbus asked counting off heads, "And Miss McKessie?" As if right on cue the door opened one more time, revealing Chad with his arm slung over Taylor's shoulder and Lucille tucked under the other. Gabriella and Mrs. Darbus rolled their eyes in unison, "So nice of you two to join us." She looked back down at her roll, "Oh and Mr. Danforth, the hockey puck will stay up here with me until the end of homeroom. We wouldn't want you to break something in my chapel of the arts." Gabriella snickered behind her hand at her eccentric homeroom teacher.

Chad just shrugged and placed Lucille at Mrs. Darbus's feet. Mrs. Darbus nodded and gestured for him to take his seat. Once everyone was settled she faced the group of students, "Now let us begin our morning by discussing the evils of cell phones." Half of the students groaned and she smiled, pushing her glasses further up her nose.

HSMHSMHSM

The entire day the only topic of conversation was how Troy had missed the morning ball and Chad had broken the baseball trophy case. Lucky for him he was on the baseball team and was the cause of most of those trophies so the team didn't seem to care. Gabriella laid her head on the lunch table, "How do I ignore him if he's the only thing anyone talks about?" She whined. Mandy and Sharpay, who was oddly sitting with them today, just stared at her.

"Maybe it's a sign that you're not supposed to ignore him?" Mandy suggested. She glanced over at the table and smiled at Jason, "I mean why would you?"

Gabriella lifted her head and followed Mandy's eyes, "I think you mean why would you ignore Jason. Not why would I ignore Troy."

Sharpay glared at her, "Seriously Gabriella. Do you not listen to a word I say? You and Troy want each other. Why don't you just go do it in the locker room and get it over with."

Gabriella flinched. She hadn't been in the locker room except for P.E. since the incident. Greene, Goff and Diston hadn't been back at school since then, but she didn't want to be alone and away from any classrooms that may hear her screaming, "I don't want to do it with anyone in the locker room, let alone Troy." She shot back.

Mandy reached over and clasped her hand, "Gabi, sweetie, why don't you just try asking him out on a normal date. I know the school doesn't realize he's made you miserable, but we do."

"You're part of the school."

"We're your friends." Sharpay took Gabriella's other hand, "Look just try."

"I already did. He ignored me. Game over. Remember?" She glanced back over at Troy's table and watched as he leaned his head closer to Ryan and Kelsi, talking quickly to them. It looked like Ryan asked a question as his eyes shot up and connected with her brown ones.

"Wait, you want to do what?" Ryan asked. He made eye contact with Gabriella before dropping his head again.

"I want to ask her out in like a grand gesture. I was thinking at the big pep rally." He scratched the back of his head.

"What about the game?" He had to lean closer to her to hear her quiet voice.

Troy shrugged, "I don't think she's going to play. At least play my way."

"So you're just going to give up the game?" Ryan stared at him. "You only do that if it's someone scary like Sharpay or your best friend, Chad. What's so special about her?"

Troy put his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair he tried to block out the emotions, but he couldn't, "I don't know. She makes me not want to play the game. I just, I don't know." He looked over at Chad and Taylor and then at Kelsi and Ryan, whose hands were intertwined on the table, "I want to hold her hand. I want everyone to know she's mine."

Ryan and Kelsi sat back. Kelsi was having trouble sitting still. This was it. This was what she'd been hoping for, what she knew would come. "We'll help." She spoke for Ryan and herself.

Troy's eyes brightened, "Really?"

"Of course man. Anything you need." Ryan nodded his head.

He leaned forward and motioned for them to join him, whispering, he said, "Okay, this is going to sound so cheesy, but I think I want to sing to her."

Ryan and Kelsi grinned, "I think we can help with that."

Gabriella watched as Ryan and Kelsi interacted with Troy. She watched as he went from reluctant, to frustrated to almost happy in a matter of seconds. _He's seriously like a middle school girl with all of his emotions. _Then she watched as Ryan picked Kelsi's hand that was intertwined with his own up and kiss the back of it. _Now why can't Troy and I have that? _She frowned and put her head in her hands. She really needed to get over him, _It's not like he's going to give up his ways for any grand gesture to try to win my heart any time soon anyhow. _She sighed and picked up a grape, popping it into her mouth, resolved to try to move on. This had been by far the worst move yet.

HSMHSMHSM

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XOXO  
MAS


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I do not own the High School Musical franchise_

**Chapter Ten: 1,000 Faces**

"All students please report to the gym for the first pep rally of the year. Let's support our East High Wildcats!" The all call from the peppy redhead who sat at the front desk rang through the school's PA system.

"Come on Gabs, let's go meet Shar." Zeke stood up and collected her books for her.

"Zeke you really don't need to carry those." She protested. He just rolled his eyes and swatted her away as he held the classroom door open for her.

Zeke guided her down the hallway, "I be gentlemanly." He bowed as they came to a stop in front of Gabriella's locker.

Rolling her eyes she opened it, "You be a freak." She muttered, smiling nonetheless.

Zeke shrugged and shoved the books in her locker, "And yet you still love me for it." He grinned as he tossed his arm over her shoulder, guiding her down the hallway to his own locker. "So Gabs you excited your first pep rally at East High?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Not really Z, I mean won't it be like every other pep rally at every other school?"

Zeke nudged her hip, "Well think about it this way, you're going to get to see your best guy friend be a star." He lunged into a pose wiggling his fingers in spirit fingers.

The seriousness on Zeke's face made Gabriella laugh so hard she had to stop walking and lean against the lockers as she doubled over in a fit of laughter. _Okay so no friends was a bad idea. I mean I would've been devastated if I'd missed Z doing this! I mean who does this? _Her laughing got even more bubbly and hysterical as she clutched her stomach and began gasping and wiping away tears.

"Seriously Gabs, I mean I know I'm talented and all, but for reals, hold it together. Us stars don't like having attention drawn to us." His hand flew over his heart and he began to look around as he ducked out of the way of fake cameras.

Gabriella did her best to straighten up as she gasped out, "What did you eat for lunch today? You're so weird."

Zeke threw his arm back over her shoulder, "And yet you hang out with me. That must make you weird." He poked her arm as he guided her to the gym.

"It must." She conceded, "Hey there's Shar!" Gabriella waved her friend down.

"And this ladies is where I must part with you two to go be a star without you." He turned on his heel and made a dramatic exit towards the back of the gym where the basketball team was huddled together.

"What on earth is up with him?" Sharpay asked as she linked her arm through Gabriella's, waving at Mandy and the other cheerleaders who were standing in a circle probably preparing for the rally.

Gabriella shook her head and followed Sharpay up the bleachers, "No earthly clue. He's on some sort of high."

"First pep rally of the semester and basketball's starting back up again." Sharpay explained, settling in and pulling a nail file out of her bag. "These things are so boring."

Gabriella nodded, "They always are, that's why I brought these." She fished in her oversized purse and revealed four magazines.

Sharpay squealed and clapped her hands, "You are a genius!" She picked the top magazine up and opened up the first page. "We are officially friends forever." She murmured, resting her head on Gabriella's shoulder.

Gabriella smiled and placed her head on top of Sharpay's, "I'm glad you found me Pay." She whispered back as she opened up one of the magazines just as Principal Matusi started speaking.

"Quiet, students, we have quite a treat for you today. Running the show is the varsity cheerleading squad." Principal Matusi took a step back as the captain, Mandy, took the microphone. As much as Gabriella loved Mandy, she really didn't want to listen. Deciding to ignore her, she continued to read her copy of _People _magazine.

Sharpay nudged Gabriella a moment later, "Look their announcing the basketball team." Gabriella just swatted her away, "Come on don't you want to see Zeke?"

Gabriella sighed and looked up, making a little bit of a show of watching Zeke run onto the court, "Yay Z!" She shouted before turning to look at Sharpay, "Happy?"

"Ecstatic." Sharpay rolled her eyes and looked back down at her magazine.

"Now," Mandy moved back to the center of the gym court, "our student body president, Larry Tudgeman."

Sharpay's nose scrunched up at his name, "Ugh how did Tudgeman win president?"

Gabriella shrugged, "Wasn't here last year Pay. Although Z said something about him eating worms for every vote he got."

"Yeah gross out factor majorly." Sharpay closed the magazine and picked another one up, "You really are a genius Boo. This would be so boring without a little Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart drama!"

Gabriella giggled, "No problem Pay."

"And now if everyone will please give their attention to our varsity basketball captain, Troy Bolton, he has prepared something special for Miss Gabriella Montez." Gabriella and Sharpay's heads shot up at Tudgeman's words.

"Pay what the fuck is going on?"

Sharpay shrugged, "I actually have no idea. This was not part of my plan."

Gabriella's head swiveled to Sharpay, "Your plan? You have a plan? Why am I not surprised." Gabriella groaned and dropped her head to hands, only letting it raise as the gym dimmed and a single spotlight came on. "What the fuck is he going to do."

"Hey everyone, for those of you who don't know me I'm Troy Bolton." _Yeah like anyone wouldn't know him. _"As you all know I like to play a little game around here." Gabriella rolled her eyes and looked back down at her magazine, "Well I think I'm done with that now." Gabriella's head shot back up, _huh? _"You see, I met this girl," he began walking around the gym, "and it took me by surprise how much I liked her. To the point where if she won't play the game that's fine. I just want to take her on a date. So," he pointed off to the side, "Ryan and Kelsi helped me put this together to explain to her just how I'm feeling. It's a little country, so just roll with me here. Hit it."

Gabriella shrunk back as the band came out and music started to play,

_There's brunettes, blonde girls_

_Blue jeans, string of pearls_

_Take you on a trip around the world girls_

_Love has a 1,000 faces_

_Love has a 1,000 faces_

_There's debutantes, drama queens_

_Glued to bride magazines_

_Half calf, two pump, no whip in the coffee bean_

_Love has a 1,000 faces_

_Love has a 1,000 faces_

_But I see you_

_Before I ever knew you_

_Before I ever knew you_

_I dreamed of you_

_I dreamed of you_

_There's small town, itty-bitty_

_Tomboy in a big city_

_Turn your head when the light ain't red_

_Stop traffic, kind of pretty_

_Love has a 1,000 faces_

_Love has a 1,000 faces_

_But I see you_

_Before I ever knew you_

_Before I ever knew you_

_I dreamed of you_

_I dreamed of you, yeah_

_You're a storm at night, thunder crashing_

_Mystery, full of passion_

_Quiet as a Sunday morning_

_Change without any warning_

_Love has a 1,000 faces_

_Love has a 1,000 faces_

_But I see you_

_I see you_

_I see you_

_Baby, I see you_

_And I see you_

_Before I ever knew you_

_Before I ever knew you_

_Before I ever knew you_

_Before I ever knew you_

_I see you_

He stood in the center of the gym, breathing a little harder than usual. He wasn't sure what to do next. His eyes roamed the crowd but there were just too many students to single her out, "Gabriella," he began, "I'm so sorry for toying with you the way I did. And I don't deserve it at all, but I'd really like if you would be my date at the after party for the game against North High this Friday."

He wasn't sure what would happen next. He almost expected her to stand up, walk down the bleachers and say yes. But she didn't.

Instead she sat frozen in her seat, the magazine in her hands starting to tear as she gripped it so tightly. Her eyes were wide, and she could feel the people around her staring, trying to figure out if they should tell Troy where she was. They were smart not to.

"Thank you." Troy mumbled into the microphone, handing it over to Tudgeman before exiting the gym.

HSMHSMHSM

He waited in the corner just out of sight, watching everyone exit the gym. He was watching for her, "Gabriella." He called out as he saw her walking, her head down and arm linked through Sharpay's.

She stopped and stared at him before unwillingly moving away from Sharpay to Troy, "What Troy?" She sighed.

He scratched the back of his head, "So will you go with me?"

"Troy you don't actually expect me to believe this isn't somehow a part of the game? I wasn't born yesterday. I know the faculty knows about it. I know all the students accept it. What makes you think that I wouldn't think this was just some play? It's not like you revealed a huge secret."

"But Gabriella," he went to interrupt her.

She held her hands up, "I'm sorry Troy, my answer is no. Good luck on Friday." She turned and walked away, leaving Troy standing against the wall wondering what to do next.

Sharpay watched from across the hallway with Zeke, Mandy, Ryan, Kelsi, Chad, Taylor and Jason, "You know what has to happen now?"

They all stared at her, "I don't want to know." Taylor rubbed her temples.

"We have to fix them up with each other." Sharpay stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No we don't Shar, we should stay out of it." Chad draped his arm over Taylor.

"No we shouldn't. It's scheming time." She put her hands on her hips.

"You aren't supposed to scheme baby." Zeke wrapped an arm around her waist.

"And who's going to stop me?" She asked.

"Not me, I'm in." Mandy nudged Jason who reluctantly nodded his agreement.

"Us too." Kelsi spoke for herself and Ryan.

Zeke held up his hands, "Where Shar goes so goes my nation so of course I'm in."

"Taylor? Chad? Are you with us or against us?" Sharpay asked, crossing her arms.

"Fine, I'm in." Taylor leaned against Chad.

"If Tay's in I'm in." Chad nodded.

"Perfection." Sharpay rubbed her hands together with a grin.

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**XOXO**

**MAS**


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